Heartshaped Scars
by hopelessbiotech
Summary: Things are changing. Cassandra notices an odd behavior on her boyfriend, Luke. She starts having these weird dreams that let her know that something is going to happen very soon. But she doesn't expect what's about to come her way...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

We go to Mount Olympus

Nothing exciting had happened at Camp Half-Blood lately. We stuck to our everyday routines and it was all madly monotonous. I almost jumped up and down like a little kid when Chiron told us we would be going on a field trip to Mount Olympus for the winter solstice.

I went around camp for a walk, hand-in-hand, with Luke. We went inside the woods and sat on our usual spot in front of the creek.

"I'm so glad we're going on a field trip," I told Luke. "It feels good to be out of here for a while."

"Yeah," he agreed. He wrapped his arm around me so I could rest my head on his shoulder. He leaned his head to the side and put it on top of mine. It was just perfect.

We just sat in silence for a while, enjoying the moment, the beautiful setting, the peaceful atmosphere. Regularly, we would do this, but I never got tired of it. Being here alone with Luke was something that never got boring. Not even slightly. I guess that when you are with someone that you love, nothing seems boring.

The nymphs and naiads watched us but continued doing whatever it was that they did. They smiled and I did too.

My name is Cassandra Lanter― Cassie for short. I am seventeen years old and I am a demigod. Apollo, the god of music, healing, prophecies, archery, light, truth and the sun, is my father.

When I came to Camp Half-Blood when I was twelve, I had been staying only for the summer. That all changed when Luke, who is two years older than me, and I decided to take our relationship to the next level. We have been together ever since I was thirteen and I had chosen to stay in the camp year-round to be with him.

I closed my eyes, feeling content.

"You know, this is really nice," I said. "Being here, just the two of us."

He squeezed me a little tighter. "Yeah, it's very nice," he agreed. His tone was different. His behavior had been a little odd since the past few weeks.

"Are you alright?" I finally asked. "I've been meaning to ask you. You've been a little weird lately."

He sighed and shook his head. "It's nothing, really," he assured. "I've got a bit of a headache. I haven't been sleeping well."

"You're still having trouble sleeping?"

"I keep having these dreams. But I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all." He had told me about that but he wouldn't tell me what the dreams were about.

"Luke," I turned so I could see his face. "That isn't good; you have to get some sleep. Why don't you tell Chiron? Maybe he―"

"No, it's okay. No need to make such a fuss over this," he cut me off.

"I'm just worried…"

He tilted my head up. His blue eyes stared right into mine.

"I'll be fine, okay? You don't need to worry about me, it creases up your pretty face," he said.

I flushed tomato red and he brought his lips to mine.

As always, that made me forget about everything. He knew it and that's why he had done it. He had such a devious mind.

"I can't believe I always fall for that," I said.

"Fall for what?" he said, smug.

"Your attempts at swooning me," I answered.

He chuckled. "Well, I don't know," he said. His tone was playful. "Tell me when you figure it out."

"I will."

And with a gasp, our lips met again.

* * *

That night, after I gave my burnt offering to my father, I went to sit with my brothers and sisters. We joked while we ate and talked about how excited we were for going to Mount Olympus.

Actually, the exciting part for us year-rounders was being able to get out of this place for a day. We had already been there a couple of times for previous Winter Solstices.

Occasionally, I would take a glance at the Hermes table and found Luke looking at me. I smiled and he did too and then continued to stare at me dreamily.

When dinner was over and every cabin was getting out of the dining pavilion, I went with Luke. Holding hands, we walked towards the cabins so he could take me to mine.

As we passed Luke's cabin, memories of when I had first come to camp and had to stay there, swept through me. Those had been nice days. I remembered sneaking out at night with Luke, trying not to get caught by Mr. D or Chiron, so we could go to the creek.

When we got to my cabin, we stopped in front of it. We turned and faced each other.

Luke had that tired look on his face. It really worried me that he wasn't getting any sleep. He smiled but I could see the weakness behind it, like he had forced it a little. The scar that ran under his eye glistened in the moonlight, making him seem almost evil.

"I'll be here first thing in the morning," he promised. "Sleep well."

"You too," I said.

He nodded and pressed his lips very gently against mine, knocking the breath out of me and leaving me still hyperventilating when I got inside.

The next morning I woke up early. When I went outside, Luke was already there waiting for me.

He gave me a faint smile, but he looked better than yesterday. I went towards him and threw my arms around his neck comfortingly.

I kissed him lightly and when I was going to part our lips, he brought them together again. Odd.

When we separated I asked, "You alright?"

He just nodded.

"Did you get some sleep?" I asked.

"Yeah, I slept better," he answered.

I smiled at him, relieved that he had at least slept. I gave him a hug and he wrapped his arms around my waist, pressing me carefully against his body.

"Ready?" he asked.

I nodded and we went for a morning walk while I waited for my siblings that were getting ready.

* * *

The field trip went well. I had seen my father, my grandfather, Zeus, and my aunt, Artemis. I still couldn't believe that I was related to such powerful beings.

The only weird thing was the weather afterwards. The sky had severely darkened and it had filled with dark clouds. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed. The wind blew strong and it looked like a storm was beginning to form.

It was like that for the next few months. Chiron even started leaving and came back to camp occasionally. I had this weird feeling that something was very wrong but nobody else had seemed to notice.

* * *

I was walking at the beach. Luke was with me and we walked around the shore holding hands. The sea was nice and calm but I could see a couple of gray clouds on the horizon: a storm drawing near.

The next thing I knew, the storm clouds had come close to the shore and it had started to rain. The wind made my wet hair stick to my face.

"Um, Luke," I pulled his arm, my gaze still fixed on the raging sea next to us. "We should get out of here."

He didn't say anything so I looked at him and found out that it wasn't Luke who held my hand. It was another boy. He was very handsome and had piercing blue eyes, ivory skin and black, shaggy hair that stuck, damp, to his pretty face.

There was no time for me to wonder who he was or where he had come from. We had to get out of there as soon as possible.

The wind blew harder now and the rain poured heavier than before, making it difficult for me to see.

He took a step forward and stood in front of me protectively, like if I was going to get hurt. My eyes scanned the area, searching.

In the distance, I caught a glimpse of a shadow. There was someone standing there, holding something that was glowing fiercely. The person raised an arm and a spark came in our direction. As it came closer and more visible, I realized it was lightning.

The boy in front of me raised his hands. I saw the water beginning to rise, making a huge wave the size of a skyscraper. With a movement of his hands, the water came toward us and created a wall that served as a shield. It blocked the lightning before it could hit us and the wall dropped.

The other person started to come closer. The guy in front of me made another wave and with a hand motion, directed it towards the other guy. The silhouette became clearer and I saw that he was a guy, too. He was forced to fall on the sand by the water.

When the water stopped pushing him, he coughed out water and stumbled to get on his feet.

"He _will_ rise again. Join us and he will spare your lives," the guy with the glowing stick said. His voice sounded oddly familiar but I couldn't quite say from whom it was.

"You betrayed us," the boy in front of me answered. "There's no way we'll join you. Just give me the bolt back."

"I can't let you return it. That would ruin our plans," he raised his arm, aiming with the stick in our direction. "Besides, you've already taken something that belonged to me. Now we're even. You'll be punished. The gods will think _you're_ the lightning thief."

Lightning struck, parting the sky, and the light that came from it made a large scar on the boy's face glisten. I felt his gaze on me but I couldn't see his face clearly.

"If you really are a son of the Big Three, you'll have a chance at stopping me," the scarred boy said and lightning came from the bolt in our direction.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

I see the Oracle

I woke with a start.

"What was that?" I gasped.

The dream disturbed me. I felt uneasy. I knew it was prophetic―all my dreams were―, but I couldn't understand the meaning of it. I had to consult this with the Oracle and ask for my destiny. Maybe that would clear things up a little and I could figure out what my dream meant.

Luckily, Chiron had come today so I asked for permission to seek the Oracle's counsel. Like always, he let me go but made me promise him to explain everything later.

I went up to the attic in the Big House. I pulled the green trapdoor's chord and a wooden ladder came down.

The attic had a lot of Greek stuff. There were armors, shields, a table full of monster parts and a trophy with a snake's head with horns: a Hydra head. Everything was covered in cobwebs, dust and rust. These things were obviously decades, if not centuries, old.

The last thing I saw when I was searching the room was what I was looking for: a woman's corpse that was already all boney, resting on a three-legged stool.

I'd already been here before to do this but I never stopped feeling the creeps toward the thing. The body sat and opened its mouth. Green mist came out of it, covering everything with a hissing sound. Then it made the image of my father and it spoke through it.

_I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, daughter of Apollo, and ask_, it said inside my head.

I swallowed hard. You'd think I was already BFF's with the Oracle, like: _Hey, what's up, girlfriend. Long time no see. What have you been up to in the past few years? Oh, my gods, you've lost some weight…_ But, no, it wasn't like that. I was always intimidated by the spirit's presence, not because it was evil, but because it felt ancient and powerful.

"Oh, spirit of Delphi, may I know what my destiny is?" I managed to ask. At least my voice sounded steady.

I could feel the mist moving, swirling around me. _Soon shall be the awaited arrival_.

I listened carefully and tried to memorize what the Oracle said. _A hero, essential to the world's survival._

_Two hearts shall suffer, in the end_, continued the rasping voice of the Oracle. _But only one shall find true love again_, it finished.

The image of my father dissipated and the mist began to disappear, returning to the corpse's mouth.

"Wait, what does this mean?" I asked but it was too late. The spirit was already gone. It was all over.

* * *

"What did the Oracle say?" Chiron asked.

"Well, it said that soon would be the awaited arrival."

"Go on," he prompted.

"A hero, essential to the world's survival," I continued. "Two hearts will suffer, in the end, but only one will find true love again," I finished.

"Anything else?"

"No, that was about it."

"Very well," Chiron said. "Now, why did you want to see the Oracle?"

I didn't feel comfortable telling this to anyone but I knew I could trust Chiron. I explained him my dream without leaving out a single detail.

"Well, I guess time will show us what your dream means, Cassie," he said. "Let's not be too hasty and wait."

I nodded. "Okay." But I had the feeling that he already had his suspicions.

The dream thing really had me a little stressed. It had been a long time since I'd had a vision. I went for a walk around camp.

As I passed the arena, I saw a couple of campers practicing. I saw Annabeth and decided that training with her would surely get my mind occupied.

She hit the guy who was practicing with her on the head with the hilt of her sword, knocking down the helmet along with the guy. She pointed her sword at his throat and he didn't dare a move against her.

"Hey, Annabeth," I said as I came closer. "I'd like to go next."

She looked at me and the boy stood up from the ground and picked up his helmet and sword. He left quickly and quietly, like if he were afraid that Annabeth would give him a surprise attack. I didn't blame him. Annabeth would have done it if it wasn't for me showing up.

"Got your mind wrapped around something and you want to distract yourself," she figured. "Am I right?"

She knew me so well.

I got dressed properly. I took a sword, a helmet and some armor to cover up my chest. I knew Annabeth and she wasn't going to go easy on me.

She thrust her sword and almost hit me in the face. Good thing I managed to dodge it in time or I would have gotten my face rearranged. I liked my face the way it was, I didn't need a makeover.

I thrust mine and she blocked it with hers. We both put all our strength into it, but we were pretty even. Our swords slid sideways and almost fell off our hands.

I tried a slash that almost worked. She wasn't expecting it. Her eyes widened but then she deflected my attack easily. I started to get a little worried. I didn't have the same strength that she had and if I got tired, I would be dead meat.

We continued sparring and countering each other's attacks. This battle had lasted longer than usual. By this point, I would already be all bruised up, I'd had fallen to the ground or maybe even passed out.

Today, I wasn't going to let that happen. I was determined to do so. I had to keep fighting. The first thing I did was defend myself from her attacks before concentrating on offense. It helped. I had managed to still be standing and that is a good thing when you are fighting a daughter of the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, Athena.

Annabeth thrust her sword and hit me on the ribs with the flat of her blade. I could tell how much force she had put into it. It hurt even with the breastplate.

I pretended to be okay so she wouldn't take advantage of any weakness.

With a slash, she cut me. Blood oozed from the cut on my left arm. She tried another slash, noticing that the first one had seemed to work. I knew that she could see that I was already out of energy.

I had to do something. I couldn't lose. I didn't want to.

The hilt of her sword hit me on the chest and I couldn't help losing my balance and falling backwards. Every muscle in my body felt so weak. She came closer, like a huntress about to catch her prey.

"You can do better than that, Cassie," she said.

And she was right. I _could_ do better. I closed my eyes for just a second and my senses seemed to open up. I concentrated on everything around me.

As I opened my eyes, I thrust my sword and I noticed that my reflexes were better. I had sliced her pants' fabric where it covered her knee. I could see the blood starting to come out of the wound.

She recoiled but I knew she was nowhere near finished. Now she would want to get even.

I quickly got to my feet and prepared to attack but she had already advanced towards me. With a spin, I dodged her attack and drew my sword, aiming close to her neck.

She knew my intentions and successfully blocked it.

With another slash, my sword ended close to her head and I hit her in the helmet with the hilt. She backed away, obviously in pain. I had hit her close to her ear, sending the vibrations all over her head.

I was aware that I had no time before she would recover and come back at me. I forced myself to think of some technique. I tried to remember when Luke used to teach me sword fighting.

And it hit me like one of Annabeth's thrusts.

I wasn't sure if I remembered it well, much less being able to pull it off but I had to put an end to this now. I couldn't hold on much longer.

Annabeth was coming. She thrust her sword and when it connected with mine, my blade hit the base of hers and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.

And sure enough, it worked like I remembered seeing it from Luke. I had done the disarming maneuver.

Annabeth's sword fell noisily to the ground, rattling against the stones. My sword's blade was a few centimeters from her bare neck.

She swallowed hard and I put my sword down. Her eyes were still wide with amazement and surprise. I was sure he was never expecting _that_.

"Wow," she said in awe when she was finally able to speak. "I didn't see that one coming."

"I wasn't sure it would work, but I decided to give it a shot," I admitted sheepishly.

"Well, that was impressive. For someone whose signature weapon is a bow, you can handle a sword pretty well."

"Thanks."

"So, what's been bothering you?" she asked.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Annabeth does some eavesdropping

I explained everything to Annabeth. I also told her about the weirdness of the weather since the field trip. Luckily, she had noticed it, too. That was enough proof that what I felt wasn't something minor.

"The best I figured out is that something very valuable has been stolen. And now that you said that someone was talking about returning a lightning bolt in your dream, it has to be from Zeus," she said.

"I guess so," I said.

"But what could be the thief's motives?" Annabeth wondered. "The gods will start a war if the stolen item isn't returned."

"Payback, maybe. He said something about the guy in front of me taking something that belonged to him."

"That's a possibility," she said. She brought her hand to her chin, analyzing the possibilitites.

"Also, I have the feeling that someone new is coming to camp this summer. Someone very powerful…"

Annabeth looked at me; a loose strand of her blond hair fell on her face. She tucked it back into place. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, a couple of years ago, I had this vision," I admitted. I hadn't told this to anyone, not even to Luke. But I guessed that if I told Annabeth, maybe she could help me out. "Kind of like a prophecy, where the whole world was in chaos. Nature was against itself, there were earthquakes, huge thunderstorms and hurricanes. Then, out of the sea, emerged a hero riding a horse made out of sea foam. He carried a Celestial bronze sword that shimmered with its own light and a shield that had a glowing trident engraved in the middle."

"Could he be…?" Annabeth trailed off.

"He _has _to be a child of the Big Three and, obviously, it has to be from Poseidon," I continued. "A horse and a trident. Those are symbols that are related to the sea god."

She nodded. I was right.

"Hey, you didn't finish that last sentence," I noticed. "What were you thinking about?" I asked.

At first, she seemed reluctant to answer. But then, she must've decided to tell me, since I'd been telling everything to her. "Well, I had this prophecy told, that I had to wait for someone special to arrive to camp so I could finally go on a quest," she said. "Do you think he could be that person?"

"Maybe," I said, trying not to get her hopes up too much. "I think that he, for some reason, will be offered the quest to retrieve the lightning bolt from the thief."

"It does seem to fit in this whole thing," she said.

"Yeah, it does make sense," I said. "But I guess we'll just have to wait until that boy arrives. If he's the same guy from my dream and vision, I already know who we're looking for."

* * *

After discussing the whole situation, Annabeth and I decided to leave it on hold and wait until this new hero from my vision appeared. I felt a tugging sensation in my gut, which I always felt when a prophecy was coming true.

She went back to her cabin to rest for a while and I went to search for Luke.

* * *

I found him in our spot near the creek. He was standing in front of it with his arms crossed on his chest, looking at it. His sandy colored hair turned yellow in the light of the sun. And the way that the rays of the sun touched his skin was just perfect.

He must've heard the sound of my footsteps because as I approached him, he turned.

I didn't say anything. I just threw myself in his arms and made our lips lock. Our mouths moved in synchronization but I could feel the confusion in his that made him almost reluctant. Obviously, he was trying to figure out why I'd done that.

As we separated he asked, "Is everything okay?"

I just nodded and buried myself in his chest. I wanted to stay like that forever and do nothing else. I felt so down today.

"What's wrong?" he asked when I wouldn't speak.

"Nothing, why do you ask?"

"It seems like something's bothering you," he noticed. Damn it, I hated how he always knew when there was something wrong. "Want to tell me about it?"

Somehow, that was the last thing I wanted to do. Something deep inside me told me that I shouldn't say anything about this to Luke. I couldn't quite understand that feeling. I always felt an urge to tell him everything.

"I'm fine," I lied, listening to the voice inside me. There had to be a reason for me to feel that it wasn't the wise thing to do.

He didn't seem convinced but he let it go. He wasn't the persuasive type and I was glad about that.

* * *

That night I had another dream.

I was sitting by the creek. But I was alone.

I felt a huge hole inside my chest, like if someone had ripped my heart out, leaving the emptiness in its place. I was sad and depressed. It was like if the whole world had crumbled and had fallen on me.

Noise came from somewhere inside the woods. It was like if someone had stepped on a twig and it had snapped. I looked to see who was coming. Somehow, I felt hopeful. Whoever was coming was making me feel this way.

Suddenly, I didn't feel alone anymore. The emptiness was gone, the hole in my chest closed and I felt whole again as if nothing had ever happened. I was happy. The world rebuild itself, I couldn't feel it anymore, heavy on my shoulders.

I kept staring into the woods, waiting for this person who had fixed me, impatiently.

And he stepped into the sunlight where I could see him. He was indeed the source of my happiness. Everything that made me feel good emanated from him.

His blue eyes stared into mine and he flashed a smile in my direction.

I stood up and we came together in an embrace.

* * *

When I woke up, the first thing that popped into my head was, "Why does this boy keep appearing in my dreams?"

Second of all, why had he been the source of my happiness when I am already perfectly happy with my boyfriend?

And third, why did I feel all alone and where was Luke at the moment? Why had that other boy, whose name I didn't even know, come to my consolation?

Just then, someone knocked on the door. My sister, Victoria, opened it. She talked with someone and called me.

"There's someone at the door for you," she said.

Luckily, there was a brush on the night table next to my bed. I passed it through my hair quickly and darted towards the bathroom.

"Just a second," I told Victoria.

I brushed my teeth, took a glance of myself in the mirror―I saw that I was at least a bit presentable― and headed to the door. It was Annabeth.

"Hey," I said.

"I need to talk to you," she said. Her voice sounded urgent.

"Okay, just let me get changed first."

"Fine, I'll wait for you here," she said. "And hurry, please."

I nodded and went inside. I looked for my orange Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and a pair of jeans and threw them on. I did my hair in a ponytail and looked for some shoes. I found my Converse hi-tops. That would have to do, I was in a hurry. I took one last glance in the mirror before leaving. My sun necklace, a present from my mother as I reminder of the Olympian blood in my veins, was tucked inside my shirt so I put it outside. Perfect. I never took it off.

When I went outside, Annabeth was still standing in front of the cabin.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Listen, I overheard Chiron talking to Luke about a new camper that may be coming this summer," she said. "Grover's supposed to be in charge of looking after him and he senses that the boy's special, as in that the guy could be Big Three material. That's why Chiron has been gone."

"Last night I had another dream," I told her. "And that boy starred in it, too. Could he be the one that's coming? A son of Poseidon?"

"He could be," Annabeth said. "Chiron's already on it. He's been teaching in the school that the boy attends."

"To confirm if he's the one," I said. It wasn't a question.

She nodded.

Chiron never did that unless it was someone important. I had a feeling this kid was very important.

I sighed. "I think it's time for the prophecies to come true."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

I find the meaning of my visions

The next few months I spent them trying to figure out my dreams and the prophecy from the Oracle. It was in vain. I didn't figure out anything.

Luke had been a little distant, too. Of course he always spent time with me but he didn't talk much and he wasn't as romantic as before.

He regularly gave me two kisses per day, one in the morning and one at night after he walked me to my cabin, unless I pouted and he gave me one or if I stole them from him.

"I'm sorry," he'd tell me. "I'm just a little distracted." But he wouldn't tell me what was on his mind.

* * *

One night when he walked me to my cabin, he surprised me. He gave me my usual before-bed kiss but then he stared at me and the next words that came from his mouth almost made my heart stop.

"I love you," he said. "Don't forget that."

"I love you, too," I said, my heart fluttering a million miles per minute.

"And I'm sorry I haven't been paying much attention to you lately," he apologized.

"It's okay, I already forgave you."

He smiled. "But, still, I feel bad about it so let's do something tomorrow. Just the two of us."

I grinned and hugged him. He gave me a bear hug in return and lifted me off the ground.

As he set me on my feet, I said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He gave me a tender kiss on the cheek and I could feel that I was blushing.

"Tomorrow," he agreed.

* * *

Luke went with me to archery class. It felt good to have him there. Every time, my arrow landed in the center of the target or close to it and he started cheering for me. Since Chiron wasn't there, the class was pretty boring.

I accompanied him to practice a few rounds in the arena and I also cheered for him. He won every single fight and then told me to do some rounds of my own. I won them all and he would scoop me up in his arms proudly and give me a kiss.

"That's my girl," he'd say.

Later, we went to the Hermes cabin. Luke asked the few kids that were there if they could leave us alone and, since he was the cabin's counselor, they had to follow his orders.

He lied on the bed and pulled me beside him.

"So, are you going to stay at camp this summer or are you going to visit your mother?" he asked.

"I'm staying here," I said. I thought it was obvious. "If you're staying, I am, too. Period." And not to mention that new boy that was coming. I had to see what was going to happen when he came.

Though, when I thought about it, it would've been nice to visit my parents. Actually, my mother and stepfather. Luke and I had only been to visit them once and that had been a few years ago. We were starting our relationship and he insisted on formally introducing himself to them. My mother Debby, and Joe had luckily liked him a lot and had said that he was a great boy. It had been a while since my last visit.

He chuckled. "You can go and see your family if you want to. I'll manage to survive," he said.

"I don't want to leave anyway," I said.

He let the subject drop.

"There will be a new boy coming," he said. "Chiron talked to me about it to see if there was some space in the cabin for him."

"A new boy?" I asked, pretending I didn't know anything.

"Yeah, he said that he and Grover have been taking keeping an eye on him for quite some time," he explained. "But he was attacked so they are bringing him in tomorrow."

"He's an important one, isn't he?" I mused.

He nodded. "He might be from one of the Big Three. His aura is really powerful."

I looked at Luke. His face showed an incomprehensible emotion. I couldn't exactly tell if it was good or bad.

"What are you thinking?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said. But I was sure that I'd interrupted his train of thought.

"Why won't you tell me anything anymore?" I complained.

"Because there is nothing for me to tell," he replied.

"Well, it seemed like you were thinking about something," I pointed.

"Seriously, Cassie. They're just random thoughts," he assured.

"If they're so random, can I at least know about one?" I asked.

"Well," he said, his voice suddenly seductive. He brought his face closer to mine. "I was thinking about how much I love you," he said and gave me a kiss.

"Really?" I asked, incredulous, but still turning red.

"Yeah," he said. "And how much you mean to me." Another kiss. "How you look at me with those hazel eyes of yours. And when you put your light brown hair aside on your shoulder," he said. "I'm being too corny. I shouldn't talk so much." He chuckled to himself.

He gave me a kiss on my neck that made the hairs on my arms stand. He had never done this before or anything close to it.

His lips ran up my jaw, and I couldn't help shuddering. Then they met mine. I saw him smile, he was enjoying this and I had to admit that I was quite enjoying it myself. This was all new to me.

He brought his hand to my waist and turned me so our bodies could be pressed together. His hand then slithered to the small of my back. I was beginning to think that this was a little too much. I wanted to protest but he was still kissing me and he wouldn't let our lips separate.

Finally, he had to gasp for air and I pushed him a little with the hand that was still on his chest. His strong, contoured, chest…

_Snap out of it_, the part of my brain that was still sane said.

"Luke," I started. "We're taking this too far. Let's stop."

He sighed but a smile quickly followed. "Fine," he assured. "I _did_ take it too far."

"Don't get me wrong," I explained. "Of course I'd like to do this but, right now, I'm not ready for it and this place isn't appropriate either."

"It's okay."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't worry," he reassured.

"You're not mad?"

"Of course not, I respect your decision and…we'll wait until you're ready," he said.

We kissed and I gave him a hug. That was why I loved him.

"Thanks," I whispered in his ear.

"Anything for you," he whispered back.

* * *

That night at dinner, I saw that Chiron had returned. That meant that the new boy was coming. He always came back before the new campers to welcome them. He was the only one who could explain things properly.

Luke walked me to my cabin and we kissed.

"Sleep well," he said with a smile. I was so glad that he seemed to be back to normal.

* * *

I had a dreamless sleep. I was so happy about that. That meant that things were starting to get back to normal, to fall back into place. At least that's what I thought. I had no idea of how wrong I was.

* * *

The next day, I went to archery class with Chiron. He was the best teacher so I enjoyed the class this time. I missed him a lot.

After that, I went with Luke to watch him practice. Annabeth challenged him and he never said no to a challenge.

I seriously thought that Annabeth was going to win. Not that I thought that Luke wasn't capable of beating her, but Annabeth was an excellent strategist so she had an advantage. But, in the end, Luke managed to outsmart her and finished pointing his sword at her chest.

She smiled, still not able to believe that she had lost. Luke was the best swordsman in the whole camp; some said that the best in three hundred years. Even she had to admit that.

The Hermes cabin lifted Luke. They carried him around the arena. He smiled and waved his hands in victory.

Annabeth picked her things and went to train with the dummies we made.

When the campers finally let Luke go, I jogged towards him and he threw his arms around me. I kissed him and he kissed me back, our mouths moving together with the same rhythm. Then he scooped me up in his arms, bridal style, our lips never parting, and he started towards the woods. I knew where he was taking me.

* * *

He set me on a big rock near the creek and we continued kissing. He threw himself on me, our bodies pressed lightly. I threw my arms around his neck and clung to him.

He responded by pressing our bodies harder. Our kissing had gotten to the point of passing as making out and I was starting to feel dizzy. But even so, I didn't want to stop, much less want _him_ to stop.

This moment was so great; I didn't want to make it end. We were completely alone; no one knew that we spent our time here. This was kind of like our special place.

This was the perfect time to prove our feelings to each other, to seal them and make them official. I was sure about this. I loved him and I was ready.

"Um, Luke," I managed to say. Suddenly, I felt nervous. But not unsure.

"Yes?" he asked, kissing my neck.

"I'm ready."

His eyes widened, lit up with excitement. "Uh, r-really?" he stammered. "Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Completely sure?" he asked again.

"Never been surer," I said and kissed him once.

He smiled. "Um…w-well, we should go somewhere else, s-somewhere more private," he stammered again. He looked so cute when he did that.

I smiled and bit my lip. I'd never wanted him so much.

"After dinner. My cabin," I said. "We're supposed to be leading the sing-along. I can manage to escape."

He chuckled. "Perfect," he said. And he brought our mouths together again.

* * *

When dinner was over and everyone started going to the amphitheater where our cabin led the sing-along, I excused myself with my siblings, faking a stomach ache. Luke said that he'd take care of me and no one suspected a thing because he almost never left my side.

Once inside cabin number seven, I locked the door. Luke sat on my bunk and I smiled. I went towards him and sat on his lap and, once again, we started kissing. We lied on the bed, with me on top of him, and he said, "We should start slowly."

"Whatever makes you comfortable."

"I want to make this special," he said.

I smiled and he took off his shirt, showing his perfect chest, his abs, his strong arms…he was just perfect.

We brought our lips together again, having decided to take this slowly.

Suddenly, there was a lot of noise coming from outside. Abruptly, I separated from him and started for the door.

"What's the matter?" Luke asked, disoriented.

"There's something going on outside," I said. "We should go see what it is," I suggested.

"Sure," he said, but his tone was different. I looked at him.

"Luke," I said. "I'm sorry but if we don't get out there, people might notice something. This is going to have to wait."

His face looked annoyed. And I could understand if he felt that way. I went towards him again.

"Kiss?" I suggested, my lips making a little pout.

At first he seemed reluctant but then he smiled and gave me a heart-melting kiss.

"Come on. Let's go see what's going on."

* * *

When we found Chiron, we asked him what had happened.

"The new camper arrived unconscious," he informed.

"Oh my gods, is he okay?"

"He defeated the Minotaur," he said. "He is in the infirmary.

"Wait, did you say _Minotaur_?" I asked in amazement.

Chiron nodded. "He is indeed a powerful one."

Yeah, he was. Taking down the Minotaur is not an easy thing to do.

"Come on, Luke," I said. His face was amazed too. "Can we see him?"

"But he's unconscious," Chiron pointed.

"It's okay. I just have to see something," I said pulling at Luke's arm and dragging him with me.

"What's it with you? You suddenly seem so interested in this boy," Luke noticed.

"I just have to confirm something," I repeated.

He looked at me like if I had lost my mind

"I'll explain later," I promised.

When we got to the infirmary, I opened the door slowly. I saw Grover near one of the beds and I figured that that was where the boy had to be. Luke and I walked quietly towards him.

"Hey, guys," Grover said, quickly looking back at the boy lying unconscious on the bed.

He had black, shaggy, silky-smooth hair. His skin was pale, but I guessed that had to be because he was unconscious from fighting the Minotaur. Somehow, I knew that beneath his closed lids were piercing, ocean-blue, eyes.

I recognized him. He was the same guy from my dreams.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The arrival

The boy was unconscious for three days and he finally woke up. It was almost around noon when Chiron called a meeting so we could meet him. The boy's name was Percy Jackson. He looked about my age.

This Friday was going to be our game of capture the flag. Chiron asked us who wanted him on their team. Luke stepped forward.

"We'll take him," he said. Chiron nodded with a smile and prompted Percy to come with us. He came reluctantly.

"Welcome to the blue team, Percy," Luke said, patting him on the back. Percy smiled.

Luke caught my gaze and I smiled at him.

"Come on," he continued. "We'll show you around."

Percy followed us shyly. I wondered if I looked like that when I had first arrived at camp. Probably, I did. The thought made me feel like I'd been really stupid.

"I'm Luke, by the way," he introduced. "And this is my girlfriend."

"Cassandra," I said. "You can call me Cassie."

That was the first time he looked at me. And I was right about the blue eyes. They looked at me and made my heart skip a beat. He really was handsome.

He smiled and I did too, politely.

We showed him the whole camp: the Big House, the volleyball court, Arts and Crafts, the Canoe Lake, the amphitheater, the climbing wall, Fireworks beach, Mess Hall, the cabins, the arena, the armory, the forge, the strawberry fields and the Pegasus Stables. Then we went back to the cabins.

"You'll be staying in the Hermes cabin with me, for now, until you're determined," Luke said.

"Determined?" Percy asked.

"Until your godly parent is determined," I explained.

"And how will I know who my parent is?"

"He or she will claim you," I answered.

"Claim me?"

"You'll understand when it happens," Luke said. "If it happens," he muttered.

I gave him a wary look. He smiled sheepishly.

"Cassie, can you take him from here? I'm late for sword skills," he said.

"Sure, no problem," I said.

Luke gave me a gentle kiss but with an edge. It was kind of like a warning: _She is mine, so don't look at her too much_. I didn't wonder who he was sending the message to. I guessed I should have seen it coming.

He left and when I looked at Percy, he was smiling half-heartedly. That should've been very awkward for him.

"Come on," I said.

We went to the lake and sat there. He had many questions about being a half-blood so I answered them and explained things to him as well as I could. I also told him everything there is to know about life at camp.

"So how did _you_ get here?" he asked when he told me what had brought him to camp.

"You want to know _my_ story?"

"Yeah, from the beginning," he said. He actually sounded curious to know about me.

"Well, um, I was born and raised in New York by mortal parents. Their names are Debby, a band teacher, and Joe Lanter, a lawyer," I started. "You could say I had everything I needed, and I mean, both, materially and emotionally. I really couldn't have asked for anything better. I was loved and that was all that mattered.

"Early in my childhood, I was diagnosed with ADHD. I was never still. And then when I started going to school, I had trouble reading and I got diagnosed with dyslexia, too. But despite the fact that I was different, there seemed to be no problems or any kind of trouble with me at all."

He listened quietly.

"I…Mom finally had a baby boy, after years of trying."

He frowned, like he didn't understand that part. "But, didn't she have…you?"

"Yes. But…you know, my father is a _god_ so…"

He nodded. I was glad he understood because I really didn't want to go deeper into the subject.

"She named him Liam," I said. "And I had never seen a cuter baby. I was glad to be a big sister. I wanted to play with him, teach him, protect him…"

He noticed me trailing off. "So what happened?"

"Well…one day, we went to an amusement park near our house. I was nine, Liam was four." I started. "We stopped to eat something. I hadn't noticed anything wrong but the truth was that we were being followed. I was always careful. Of course, I didn't know I was a half-blood then but I knew I was different because I attracted monsters every time I went out. But that time, I was just so focused on the rides; I forgot that I was a danger to those around me. Just when we were finishing eating, the hellhound appeared and came after me. My little brother…he-he tried to defend me. I didn't know that he had taken the knife I had in my bag and… he went after the hellhound and tried to attack it," I explained. Tears welled up in my eyes and streamed down my cheeks.

Percy gave me a side hug, trying to comfort me. I guess he knew where the story was heading.

"Cassie…you don't have to finish." he said miserably. "I'm sorry I ever brought it up."

I shook my head. "He didn't plan right. He was just a four-year-old kid. The hellhound dodged him and attacked him by his left side," I recalled. "I can still remember the sound of his bones cracking under the crushing weight of that beast. My mom choked up with a sob and my stepfather held her with tears running down his face. They couldn't do anything and I was too stunned to do anything. But then, I reacted. I went for the thing and as I got close, it roared in pain. My brother had managed to stab it, but it was just a regular knife. I had the one made out of Celestial bronze. I stabbed it and it disintegrated in yellow powder."

"Do all monsters do that?" he asked. "Because that's the same thing that happened to the Minotaur."

I nodded, still unable to speak clearly.

"Sorry. Finish your story first. I'm listening."

I sighed. "Well…I couldn't stand seeing my little brother's crumpled figure on the ground. Or my parents' hurt faces," I said, my voice hoarse from crying. "I figured it was entirely fault, because I wasn't careful. So I ran away…"

"You ran away?" he asked in disbelief. "A nine-year-old girl?"

"I thought my parents would never want to see me again, after what had happened."

"But it wasn't your fault!"

"I didn't care. I had promised to protect him and…I failed him. I couldn't keep the promise," I said. "After a few days of sleeping on the streets, my parents found me. They tried to convince me that it wasn't my fault," I said.

"See? They didn't think it was your fault," he said.

"Well, I wasn't too convinced but I believed them," I explained. "I returned home. And things didn't get any easier."

"What happened?"

"At school, I got kicked out that year. There was this mean History teacher, Mrs. Cowell, and one time I got detention from her. Once we were alone, she threatened to tear me to shreds and said that I didn't have what it took to defeat her. Then she came after me. I was lucky I was so close to the fire extinguisher so I picked it and slammed her in the back of the head with it.

"Conveniently enough, the principal appeared just when I had knocked the demon teacher unconscious. That resulted in an immediate expulsion. But even know, I still remember that demonic voice so clearly," I shuddered.

"I also had this demon teacher. She was a substitute English teacher named Mrs. Dodds. She turned out to be a Fury. That's what Mr. Bru― I mean, Chiron, told me." he said.

"Yeah, it's very common for teachers to actually be monsters," I said.

"No wonder most people hate teachers," he chuckled.

"Yeah, but, a Fury? Whoa, that really is something. Did you know that they only listen to one person?" I said. "They don't take orders from anyone else."

I thought about it and decided to leave it at that. I didn't exactly know if I was right and I didn't want to scare him. I wasn't going to jump to conclusions.

"Hey, you asked me something about the Minotaur," I recalled. "What was it, again?"

"Oh, yeah. That the Minotaur disappeared in yellow powder, too," he said. "That means it's dead, right?"

"I'm sorry for breaking it to you, but...no. It isn't dead. You just dispelled it for a while. And made it a little angry," I explained.

"What do you mean it's not dead?" he asked. "I lost my mother because of that thing and I didn't kill it?"

"Listen, Percy, all monsters are like that," I said. "They just disappear for a while; they regenerate and come back in a few days, weeks, months, years, decades, maybe centuries if you're lucky..."

He looked like he didn't want to keep talking about the subject. His eyes were watery.

"Go on with your story," he prompted, desperate for a change of subject.

I looked at him but decided not to say more of the matter.

"Um, so, then came my last school where I started on fifth grade. I befriended this weird little guy, Alec Sanders," I continued. "He had really odd eating habits, like sometimes he nibbled on soda cans instead of drinking the liquid inside of it. He always wore long pants or jeans, even on hot summer days. He walked as if every step hurt and he had an excuse from gym class because he had this muscular disease in his legs. Also, he smelled like a wet wool sweater when he got caught up in the rain.

"But even though he was so strange, he was the best friend anyone could ever have," I concluded.

"Grover was just like that, too," he said.

"Yeah, Grover is a great guy," I agreed. "One of the bravest satyrs I've ever met, too."

"So you two know each other?"

"Oh, yeah, he and I go way back," I said. "I'll get to that in a minute."

He nodded.

"One day, we missed the bus and had to walk home from school. Later, we noticed these weird birds that seemed to follow us. I didn't pay much attention to them but Alec kept glancing nervously at them. I finally understood that something was wrong when they started to attack us, pecking at our flesh. I ducked and managed to avoid some but they were just too many.

"Then, Alec gave me something I'd seen before. It was a pin that he had on his backpack. I asked him if I could borrow it and he always said no. Then, I knew why. He told me to take it.

"So I took it eagerly and looked at the bow and arrow drawn on it. But as I opened it, it changed. It became a real bow. If I had opened it when I used to ask him for it, how would he explain to me the bow I'd have in my hands?

"It was bronze colored and the arrows were made out of Celestial bronze, too. I don't know how, but when I shot that first arrow, it felt natural. It got about three of the birds at once and they disappeared in dust. But there were too many for just the two of us.

"'What are these birds and why are they attacking us?' I'd asked."

"'They're Stymphalian birds. They tear people's flesh if they aren't killed fast enough,' he'd answered."

"I felt a stinging sensation on several parts of my body. When I took my first glance, there was blood coming out of my skin on all the places those birds had managed to peck me.

"It was then when it suddenly hit me. Our Latin teacher had mentioned these birds in class. If they were the same birds from the stories, there was only one way they could be defeated.

"'Noise. That's how they're defeated.' I'd said."

"'Right, now I remember. That's how Hercules did it,' he'd recalled. From his pocket he took out something. As I looked at it closely, I saw that they were reed pipes. He started playing them and, oh my gods, did that sound awful," I chuckled.

Percy joined in. I got a feeling he knew what I was talking about.

"After that, it was easier to get them, so I shot them all out of the sky. It's a good thing monsters disappear because people might start to wonder why there were a bunch of dead birds lying on the streets. Alec immediately said that that wasn't good, that he'd had to take me to camp. I kept asking him what he was talking about but he wouldn't say more. He was just as badly bruised up as I was. Even so, he still insisted on protecting me saying that that was why he was sent to our school.

"On our way to camp, he tried to explain things a little. He showed me that he was a satyr and I…I―I, um, passed out." I admitted sheepishly.

"Passed out? Because he told you he was a satyr?" Percy asked, suppressing a smile.

"I was in shock, okay?" I tried to defend myself. "I didn't expect that my best friend would be half-goat."

"I didn't expect it from Grover either, but―"

"Yeah, yeah, anyway, back to the subject," I said annoyed.

"Alright. Sorry."

"When I woke up, I was at the infirmary. Alec was there along with Chiron. They both explained to me everything about my new life as a demigod. That night I was assigned to the Hermes cabin until they knew who my parent was. I befriended Luke from the cabin, Annabeth, from the Athena cabin, and Grover. A year after I'd settled in at camp, I got claimed by my father during a campfire sing-along."

"And who's your father?" he asked.

I pointed at cabin number seven. It was made of solid gold that shimmered gloriously in the sunlight.

"Apollo," I said. "God of music, medicine, poetry, archery and the sun."

"Whoa, cool," he said, then did a low whistle as he looked at the cabin.

I smiled as I looked at the cabin. It was pretty cool.

"And, well after that, it was the same everyday here at camp. We trained, studied and everything else," I concluded.

"What about Luke?" he asked. "You also became his girlfriend."

"Yeah."

"How did that happen?" he asked, curious again.

I felt my cheeks flush tomato red. "Um…" I started. "Well, we started as friends when I arrived. I was twelve and he was fourteen. I liked being with him a lot and I had started to like him but since I was in the Hermes cabin, I didn't rush into it. I mean, what if I had actually been a daughter of Hermes? I was so glad when I found out I wasn't his sister," I recalled.

"Yeah," he said. "That would've been a problem."

"So after that, he admitted that he had feelings for me," I said. "I also told him that I felt the same way and…we've been together ever since." I didn't need to tell details. I still couldn't understand how I seemed to be so open to him.

He nodded. He stayed quiet for a while and I wondered what he was thinking about.

"Do you think I'll ever get claimed?" he finally asked.

I really didn't want to answer that question. But he had a right to know.

"Honestly," I started. "I don't know. No one does, actually. Most of the time, it doesn't happen. That's why the Hermes cabin is always so crowded. The gods usually are...forgetful about their children."

Percy sulked a bit. He fixed his eyes on the water and didn't look at me as he spoke.

"Do you love your father?" he asked.

The question caught me by surprise. "S-sure," I stammered. "I'm one of the few who got to meet him. He gave me a gift for my fourteenth birthday."

I showed him my armlet. It was made of bronze. The sun and the moon were fused together, gold and silver, protruding from the armlet.

"Cool. Does it do something?" he asked.

"Yeah, it turns into a bow," I said. "It was actually a present from both my father and his sister, Artemis."

"And how does it work?"

"Easy. I just move the rays of the sun like this," I demonstrated, turning them until they were beside the moon. Immediately, the armlet transformed into a silver bow etched with streaks of gold. A quiver with the same pattern appeared in my back, full of golden arrows with celestial bronze tips.

"That's amazing," Percy said in awe.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool."

"Must be nice to know your father cares about you," he said in a different tone.

I looked at him.

"You know, sometimes I think it would be better if I never met him," he admitted. "Because if I do, he'll have to explain to me why he abandoned us."

"Percy, none of the gods ever raise their children," I explained. "Since ancient times, it has been done by the mortal parent."

"But would it kill them to at least, I don't know, call or something?" he asked. "Or maybe send a letter?"

"The gods have been like that for eons," I said. "They won't change now. But that doesn't mean that they're bad."

He looked angry. I knew he resented his father. Who wouldn't? I used to. Until he claimed me, of course, but, still, I knew how it felt.

"But let's not jump to conclusions, alright?" I said, in an attempt to cheer him up. "Who knows? You could get claimed at any moment."

"Now you say that?"

I sighed. "Listen, I have a feeling that it might happen to you."

As soon as the words came out, I regretted them. If it didn't happen, he would see me as the biggest liar in the world. But I really had a good feeling about him, though. I had that familiar tug in my gut. He had to be a son of Poseidon.

He let that sink in and smiled. He stood up.

"Thanks, Cassie," he said.

I smiled.

He hesitated, but then he leaned quickly and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek. I felt my cheeks getting warmer as I saw him walk away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

I see a glowing trident

At last, Friday came. We always looked forward to capture the Flag. The Athena cabin―Annabeth and her siblings―had made an alliance with the Hermes cabin and our cabin. We were the ones with the most campers so we traded privileges like shower times and chore schedules to win their support.

The other team's leader, the Ares cabin, allied with the rest. Dionysus's twin sons were good athletes. Demeter's children weren't aggressive. Aphrodite's kids mostly sat out of everything so they were no threat. There were four Hephaestus kids, and they were big and strong from working at the forge so much. And of course, the Ares cabin that was a dozen of big, ugly, and mean kids.

Chiron explained the rules for Percy's benefit and then a table full of helmets, armor, shields and weapons appeared. I put some armor on and took a helmet with blue horsehair plume―the color of our team. I didn't need any weapons. I had my bow.

I offered Percy my help. He was thankful for it. No one else seemed to care about him. I remembered feeling exactly the same when I first arrived at camp. He couldn't find proper sized armor. I rummaged around and found some. He tried it on and it fitted him more or less good. I picked one of our team's helmets and tossed it to him.

For a weapon, he chose a sword and shield. He was pretty skilled at sword-fighting, even though he said he didn't feel it balanced right. Luke wondered what he could do with a balanced sword.

I had tried to teach him archery but we immediately found out that he wasn't very good at it. One of the arrows had landed on Chiron's behind and the centaur wasn't too thrilled about that.

So you could say that he was prepared for a little battle. This was his chance to shine and show all of us what he could do.

"Are you nervous?" I asked him. I knew I had been on my first game. I had no experience at all at fighting people and I knew nobody was going to go easy on me.

He shook his head. "Nah."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Under the torchlight, I saw him crack a smile. He knew I hadn't bought it.

"Okay. Maybe a little," he admitted.

"Just do what you are told and you'll be fine," I said. "We won't let anything happen to you. We're a team."

"So…what exactly do I have to do?" he asked.

Luke appeared next to us. I looked at him waiting for an answer. He seemed to think for a second.

"You'll be on border patrol," Luke decided. "Cassie will keep an eye on you."

Percy looked at me and nodded.

Just then, Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

Our team cheered and shook their swords while we followed Annabeth's path toward the south woods. The red team did the same. They went after Clarisse, who was heading toward the north.

The conch horn blew and almost immediately you could listen to the sound of campers fighting.

I sprinted around the woods, close to the boundary line so I could keep an eye on Percy just as Luke had said. I could see him standing near the creek awkwardly with his sword and shield ready.

A few from the Demeter cabin were about to cross the creek into our territory. I shot them each on an arm or leg. I always tried not to hurt anyone too much. That would be our problem afterwards because our cabin did all the healing.

I ran into my brother Lee Fletcher.

"There's a bunch of Ares campers that are going to cross the boundary line," he said panting, obviously from running around trying to keep watch.

I nodded and followed him. And there they were. Sherman, Mark and some other of their siblings who I didn't remember their names. Lee and I shot a volley of arrows in their direction. But even that wasn't enough to stop them. Percy would have to do something.

"I have to go check on Percy," I said.

I hurried towards the creek and I froze when I saw who was there with him. Clarisse and four of her siblings were picking a fight with Percy.

She tried to thrust at him with her electric spear but Percy managed to dodge it. I had to do something. My arrows wouldn't do any good on Clarisse and I had nothing else on me.

They all surrounded him. One of her brothers bumped him and Percy slashed his sword at him. The guy blocked the attack easily with his shield.

Clarisse thrust her spear at Percy again and he deflected it with his shield. He fell back. That hadn't been a good move but there was nothing else he could've done. I was sure the electricity had sent a jolt through his body. They all started laughing.

"Give him a haircut. Grab his hair!" Clarisse ordered.

Percy got to his feet and raised his sword. Clarisse slammed it aside with her spear and sparks flew.

I heard a rustling sound. I quickly notched an arrow and turned around. There was nobody in sight.

_Ambush_, I thought.

Someone's hand gripped my shoulder and I turned instantly. He covered my mouth before I could say anything.

"Shh," he said. Then I saw him. He let me go.

"Damn it, Will," I muttered. "Don't you ever do that again."

He smiled. "Sorry, sis," he apologized. "Whoa, the new kid's getting creamed."

"I know," I said. "He's on our team so we should help him. But if we do, he'll never learn to fend for himself."

Just then, Clarisse knocked him into the water. Then everything happened fast…

Percy stood up and swung his sword against the head of one guy. He fell in the creek. Two of them went for Percy and he slammed one with his shield and cut the horsehair plume of the other one's helmet. They both backed away.

Clarisse was the only one who didn't seem to care and she was coming after him with her spear. It flickered with a red light that hurt just imagining it zapping you. But as soon as she thrust, he caught the shaft between the edge of his shield and his sword and he snapped it.

"Ah! You idiot!" Clarisse screamed.

He smacked her between the eyes with the hilt of his sword and she stumbled out of the creek.

Then there was yelling and elated screams. Luke raced toward the creek with the red team's flag lifted high. Some of his siblings were covering him along with a couple of mine, fighting Hephaestus's kids.

The Ares kids stood up and went after Luke. It was too late. Luke ran into our territory and our team started cheering. The red banner turned silver with a caduceus in the middle, the symbol of the Hermes cabin. The whole team picked Luke up and carried him around. Chiron blew the conch horn.

We had won the game.

I saw Annabeth materialize next to Percy as she took off her Yankees cap.

My sister Victoria appeared next to me. "Woo! We won, sis!"

I smiled and nodded. "You all did a great job," I said. "The plan worked perfectly."

"It sure did!" she said. "Can't wait for next Friday's game!"

"Yeah, me too," I said. It sounded a little too unenthusiastic for someone whose team had won. Victoria noticed. She frowned, trying to figure out why I was like that.

Just when she was going to say something, there was a growl nearby. I turned towards the noise. Chiron shouted an order in ancient Greek and after that a huge hellhound pounced at Percy.

The Apollo cabin readied their bows. We shot a volley of arrows that sprouted from the hound's neck. The monster fell down at Percy's feet.

There was a lot of talking then. The only way there could be a hellhound at camp was if someone summoned it. Clarisse blamed Percy for it. But Chiron knew better and told her to shut up.

The body of the monster melted into shadow and into the ground until it disappeared completely. Who could've done this? Now, even camp wasn't safe for us.

Annabeth urged Percy to get in the water and told Chiron to watch. Everyone gathered around and I walked closer so I could see.

His wounds were healing and he looked better. Some of the campers gasped, but it wasn't because of how he healed.

Above his head was a hologram of green light gleaming with a huge trident in the middle. I knew it. I was right.

"It is determined," Chiron announced. Percy asked him something that I didn't get to hear.

We immediately knelt as Chiron said, "Poseidon. Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."

After that, Percy got moved to the Poseidon cabin.

All of the sudden, being son of the sea god was like having a rare disease. He had to sit alone at the Poseidon table in the dining pavilion. Everyone looked at him different. Nobody talked about what had happened.

Luke still taught him sword-fighting, though. And I helped him with anything he needed. He told me that Chiron had been explaining to him that he had to get the bolt from Hades, who apparently had it.

We sat near the lake as Percy explained everything to me.

"I don't know what to do, Cassie," he said.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I looked at him and he was staring into the distance ahead of him.

"I'm supposed to take two people on the quest," he explained. "I already chose Grover. But I'm having a little trouble with the last one…"

"Oh…," I replied. "Do you have someone in mind?"

He sighed and turned his head, finally looking at me.

"Well, I'm between Annabeth…and you," he answered.

I felt a pang of jealousy. I didn't know why. I'd seen him hanging out with her in the last few days. She seemed to like him a little, even if she wouldn't admit it. I forced myself to stop feeling that way. Annabeth was my friend and I already had a boyfriend…

I stayed quiet, trying to process the thing that I felt.

"It's just that," he continued. "you're my friend and I'd like it if you came with us but…Annabeth really wants to go too."

I thought for a minute. I really wanted to go. The idea of going with him was something I had to admit I kind of liked. And it had been a long time since a quest had been allowed. Being at camp all year could get a bit boring sometimes. A quest would be a great opportunity to test my skills in the outside world.

But I didn't feel that this was my calling. There was no familiar tug in my gut. Also, Annabeth was supposed to be waiting for someone special to arrive at camp so she could finally go on a quest. If there could be such an omen, it was obviously Percy.

"Percy…," I said. "Take Annabeth."

He blinked hard, as if he weren't expecting me to refuse his offer. "Are you sure?" he asked. "Don't you want to come along?"

He sounded a little disappointed.

"Don't get me wrong," I corrected. "Believe me, I'd love to go but…it's Annabeth's destiny to go on this quest."

He raised his eyebrows. "How do you know that?"

"Well, I sort of know these things," I explained. "You could say it's an ability I have. I can prophesy sometimes or I can understand prophecies, even if they're not mine."

"Really?" he asked a little impressed. "Why do they have the Oracle, then?"

"My prophecies aren't as powerful as the Oracle's," I said. "Mine are a little more personal, like things that involve me. Of course, sometimes there are exceptions."

I remembered my vision years ago about him emerging from the sea in a horse. That didn't exactly involve me and yet I'd seen it.

He seemed to think for a second.

"You sure you really can't come?" he asked again.

"Prophecies are things that can't be messed around with," I said. "Believe me, if you try to change them, bad things happen."

He took that in and probably decided that I was right.

"Fine," he said. "I'll take Annabeth and Grover."

I nodded encouragingly. "It's for the best. Besides, with them on your team, you may have a chance at succeeding on this quest."

"_May_ have a chance?"

"I didn't mean it like that," I corrected. "But you've got to be prepared for anything on a quest. Nobody knows what could happen."

"This quest is suicide anyway," he said. "The Oracle already told me I would fail."

"What?"

"Yeah. It said that I would fail to save what matters most," he confided.

"Percy, sometimes prophecies have double meanings," I explained.

"You're just saying that to make me feel better."

"I am not," I protested. "Look, you have to trust me on this."

That seemed to soften him a bit, like if he had chosen to believe what I asked for. After all, I had always been totally honest with him. I'd never lied to him and I'm pretty sure I showed him I was sincere about everything I said.

He sighed. "I have to believe that everything's going to be alright if I am the leader of this quest," he said, sudden determination. "Annabeth and Grover are counting on me and I have to do my best to keep them safe."

I smiled. "That's better," I said.

He smiled back. "Thanks. You always know what to say."

"Yeah, well, I'm glad I could be of any help to you."

He sighed and stood up. "Well," he said. "I'd better start getting ready. We're leaving tomorrow."

"Sure," I nodded.

He started to leave.

"Oh, and, um, Percy?" I called.

He turned and for a millisecond I forgot what I was going to say. Something was seriously wrong with me today.

"Yes?"

"_I'm_ counting on you, too," I said.

He flashed a smile and nodded, turning away.


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

**I JOIN A CAUSE**

Before leaving, the quest members stopped by the Hermes cabin, where Luke gave Percy stuff that could help during their mission. He gave him a pair of flying shoes and a bronze shield. His _favorite_ bronze shield, to be exact. At first, it didn't strike me as odd. Even though he never let anyone touch it, much less borrow it. At the moment, I just didn't notice how strange that was.

We all gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill before they left. Everyone wished them good luck and everything and then they went down the hill. When everyone left, Annabeth and Grover went down the hill too, leaving Percy and me alone.

"So..."

"I guess this is it," I said.

He nodded and did something I wasn't expecting. He extended his arms in front of him, inviting me into them.

I didn't hesitate and buried in his arms. His grip tightened around me, as if he didn't want to let me go. Everything else seemed to disappear. For a moment, the only thing I cared about was him. I cared for his safety. My heart felt heavy with dread knowing that there was a chance that he might not make it back and I would never see him again.

As we separated, his gaze fixed into mine and I had to catch my breath. There were so many things I wanted to say but they all got tangled up in my head and I couldn't find a say them.

"Be safe," I pleaded, the only thing I could manage.

"I'll try," he promised with a nod.

That wasn't what I could exactly call reassuring but I tried to believe in him. Hopefully, he would come back from their jorney alive. He was someone special, _that_ I believed.

He opened his mouth to say something but then closed it. He opened it again. "When I come back, assuming I live...I'll tell you some-

thing," he finally said. "That's the only reason I'll try my best to stay alive."

I nodded, not sure what else to do or feel. "Well, then, come back alive to me, okay? Now you've made me curious."

He smiled. "You'll survive."

He gave me one last hug and started down the hill. Then I remembered something.

"Percy," I called. "Wait!"

He turned and came towards me, a light smile on his face.

From the inside of my shirt, I pulled out my necklace. I turned it around my neck and took it off. My hands reached for his neck and put the necklace around it, over his shirt.

"So you can remember that the gods are with you. My dad will be with you, I prayed to him for it," I said. "And _I'll_ be with you." I put my hand over his heart.

He smiled as he looked at it. Then he looked at me. "Thanks."

And he darted downhill and into the sunset which suddenly didn't seem so beautiful.

As the Big House came into view, I saw a familiar figure next to Chiron. They seemed to be talking as they laughed together.

I got closer and nearly jumped off my feet.

"Alec!" And I tackled him, making us almost collapse on the floor.

It had been years since I'd last heard of him, much less seen him. I missed the guy more than anyone could imagine possible. He was my best friend in the whole world. There were lots of things we had been through together and I had been worried sick about him. I hadn't known about any reports from him since he left to find half-bloods in schools as an undercover satyr.

"Cassie! It's been so long!" he said.

"Three years, but, who's counting?"

He laughed and I joined in.

He had changed a little. He'd always had a cute face but now it was just handsome. His body looked buffer, more contoured, as if he had been working out.. His hair was in natural spikes, and not long enough to cover his small goat horns. He had signs of a goatee that had recently been shaved. His ears were pierced with a pair of tiny, black rings.

"I know it's been a long time since the last time you've seen each other," Chiron said. "I'll leave you two alone so you can talk."

But we weren't really listening. I started to say something but he did the same and all you could hear were mixed words. As we laughed, Chiron left with a smile.

"You first," Alec said.

"How has it been in the past few years? What brings you back here? Have you been working out? And why doesn't your hair cover your-?"

"Breathe, Cassie. Breathe," he cut me off. "Take it easy."

"Yes, breathe," I reminded myself, as I inhaled and exhaled.

"One question at a time," he said.

"Okay, well, how have you been?"

"Good. I've been searching for half-bloods in high-schools, but, there aren't many at that age. I haven't found anyone yet."

"And what made you come back?" I asked.

"Well, since I couldn't find any demigods, I decided that this satyr―" he pointed at himself. "―needed a break. You know, to see his best friend," he said and gave me a bear hug.

"Aww, you're the best."

"I know, right?" he beamed.

"And, my gods, Alec. You've been working out?"

I could swear he turned various shades of red before answering. A smile followed. "Maybe a little," he admitted.

"Well, keep it up," I encouraged. "It's paying off." And it seriously was. I remembered him from long ago, when he was all skinny and clumsy. Now he seemed more agile.

"And what about your hair?" I asked. "It looks awesome, by the way, but why doesn't it cover your horns?"

"I've been using hats a lot so I can cut my hair," he explained. "To be honest, I prefer it short. It's such a pain, having to brush longer hair."

"Yeah, I know." Brushing hair is a pain, especially when your hair is a bit curly like mine. Then, it's a torture.

"But enough about me," he said. "What have _you_ been up to?"

"Well, not much, actually," I admitted. "It's been pretty much the same around here since the last time you came."

"How's everything with Luke?"

"We're...good."

"Hmm," he nodded.

"The only exciting thing was the new boy that came," I said. "A son of Poseidon."

I noticed how his eyes widened at the sound of the Sea god's name.

"Really? Poseidon?" he asked skeptically. I nodded. "Wow," he mouthed.

We talked and talked and talked for about an hour. He told me about a few adventures he'd had on his journey. He said teenagers in the outside world threw some wicked parties that he knew I would never even consider going. He never was much of the party type, but he said he had gone to some, to blend in, and had actually enjoyed one ore two. I asked him if it was because of a girl involved and he flushed tomato red and denied it.

I looked at the time and realized that I hadn't been with Luke today. Alec asked if he could come along with me to see him, too. I said sure and we went to the Hermes cabin.

Luke was there alone. He and Alec talked for a while and then Alec left. He was pretty tired from the journey. That left me alone with Luke. I sat on his bed and he did too, beside me. He wrapped his arm around me and brought his face to my cheek. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his breath against my face.

"I actually needed to talk to you," he said.

"About what?" I asked. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. It's about something I was hoping you would do with me." he admitted. The first thing that came to my mind was the last time we were alone in my cabin.

"What is it?" I asked, in case I was mistaken.

"Well, there's...someone who wants to make some changes," he explained. "You know, give us demigods the respect we deserve. Remold the world in our image."

He caught my attention with the word _respect_.

"Nobody would call us freaks anymore," he continued. He really knew how to get my attention; he knew how I'd been called a freak at school because I had ADHD and dyslexia and claimed to see monsters.

That was my fatal flaw. I was willing to do anything for respect. I'd been called names so many times, I couldn't stand it. If there was a way to get even for that, I was in. Also, I didn't want other demigods to suffer the way I did.

"I'm listening," I said.

He explained me everything. That he was looking for more people to join their cause; that we would suffer no more in a world of new heroes.

"What if you talked to Alec?" he asked. "Maybe you can convince him to join us, too."

"Yeah, I'll try to talk to him."

"Thanks, Cassie," he said, brushing his lips against my cheek. "I'm counting on you. I know you can help me."

"You know I'll do anything for you, Percy."

"Percy?" he asked.

I frowned. Who'd mentioned Percy? "What's wrong with Percy?"

"You said Percy," he pointed.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I didn't."

"Yeah. You did."

My frown got even deeper. "I...I did?"

He nodded and I saw the hints of a frown even deeper than mine forming on his face. How could I have called him Percy? I hadn't been thinking about him recently.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I don't know why I said that. Maybe I'm just too worried about the quest."

Luke's expression didn't change. In fact, he seemed madder. Then his face was back to normal and I figured I must have been mistaken. There was a bit of coldness as he spoke, though.

"It's okay."

"Well, I'm going to go and talk to Alec."

He nodded. I gave him a light kiss, trying not to push him too hard. I knew he was still touchy about me calling him Percy. I still couldn't believe I'd done that. And I left to find Alec.

Alec was hooked as soon as he knew I was in. He always supported my decisions. So Luke told us he was going to take us to the place where everything was getting organized. We talked to Chiron, telling him that we were going to visit my family for my mother's birthday and, luckily, he gave us permission. He said to be careful with monsters and he even told me to say _Happy Birthday_ from him.

I didn't expect what I saw when we got there. It was a ship. A cruise ship. The hull was white and at least ten stories tall with decks with lit balconies and portholes.

_Princess Andromeda_ was painted above the bowline in black, lit with a spotlight. That was a weird name for a ship. I wondered from what cruise line it was.

There was a woman wearing a Greek chiton as a masthead, sculpted to look chained to the front of the ship. Her hair was black and her face was young and beautiful, but her expression was terrified.

The ship was even more amazing from the inside.

A balcony led into a huge central promenade lined with close shops. The swimming pool level had rows of empty deck chairs and a bar closed off with a chain curtain. Above that were more levels. There was a climbing wall, a putt-putt golf course, a revolving restaurant...

The only thing that was unusual was the people. They seemed to be like in some kind of trance.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked Luke.

"Well, we needed a place where we could get organized," he explained. "We thought a ship would be more convenient, once we sail off. It's harder to come across a ship than somewhere inland. And if any other ship saw us, they would think it's just like any other ship."

"Oh."

We went to the suites. Luke told Alec to pick any suite he liked during our stay and Alec didn't hesitate to do so. He quickly picked one on the twelfth deck. It seemed like Luke had already picked mine because he took my hand and led me to the next floor.

I didn't say a word as he took me towards the end of the hallway, where huge double oak doors looked like they led somewhere important.

"Now, this is _our_ suite," he announced as he opened the doors and gestured me to go inside. I liked where this was going. I went inside as he held them open for me and then he closed them behind me. And I was right about the room. It had to be the most expensive on the whole ship.

It had huge windows curved along the back wall, looking out over the stern of the ship. You could see the sea and the sky colliding on the horizon. A Persian rug covered the floor. Two plush sofas occupied the middle of the room; a canopied bed one corner; and a mahogany table, loaded with food, the other. I noticed it was all served on a silver platter. A sword was propped against the sofa.

The only thing that disturbed me was the dais in the back of the room. It was at least ten-feet-long. The sarcophagus was engraved with Ancient Greek scenes of cities in flames and heroes dying horrible deaths. It ruined the nice image I had of the room.

Luke's arms wrapped around my waist. He rested his chin on my shoulder. "Do you like it?" he whispered.

"How can I not?" I asked. "It's beautiful. Everything's perfect." I thought about that twice when I saw the sarcophagus. I wouldn't tell him that, thought.

I heard him chuckle. "Glad you liked it. I picked all this especially for you, you know. I was hoping that maybe we could...pick up where we left," he said in a tone that immediately made me realize what he was talking about.

"I see."

"So what do you say?" he asked.

That feeling came to me once again. I wanted him so much. I turned, slowly.

_Smooth_, I told myself, and I put my arms around his neck and kissed him tenderly but with an intense edge.

He kissed me back, tightening his grip around my waist. Clearly, he had gotten my answer.

As our mouths were together, he scooped me up in his arms and put me on the bed. My trembling hands went for his shirt, trying to yank it off. He didn't seem to mind; he didn't protest at all for taking this faster than before. Now, we were officially alone so we had nothing to worry about.

When I finally got his shirt off, I smiled in victory and he did too. He brought his lips to my neck while I still had my hands on his strong, broad back.

I really couldn't believe this was happening, while I had the time to actually think as he kissed me. Here we were, alone, and he would finally be mine. And I would be his. That was the best part.

After a while, he went for my top and pulled it off easily, revealing my gray bra. For a moment, I felt self-conscious. Though, I didn't know if it was of embarrassment for how clumsy were my attempts at being smooth or because of the fact that I'd never shown myself to anyone.

All that disappeared when he, once again, brought his lips to mine.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

I FLY

Dim rays of light made my eyes open. I found myself on Luke's bare chest. I held him tighter, making sure I hadn't dreamed the whole thing.

"You finally woke up," I heard him say. I hadn't seen he was awake. "Did you sleep well?"

I let out a smile. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I was hoping I could hear it from _you_."

"I slept great," I told him. "You?"

"Best night of my life," he admitted as he stroked my hair. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his touch. My skin tingled everytime I felt his hands on me.

His lips then met mine and I almost swooned. As his hand slid to the small of my back, mine went to his neck, pulling us closer. We got a little too carried away, for he had to stop to gasp for air. Sometimes I wished that we didn't need to breathe.

"I love you," he told me as soon as we separated; he brought one hand to the left side of my face and I put mine over his and caressed it slightly with my fingertips.

"I love you, too," I reminded him.

He looked at me straight in the eyes and kissed me tenderly.

"We should get dressed," he said.

"Sure."

He stood up first. He picked up his clothes from the floor while I just stared at him. I couldn't' believe that such a great guy was now mine.

With a smile, he went into the bathroom and took a shower. In a few minutes, he came out and I went next.

After I got dressed, a question I had asked myself since we arrived here came into my thoughts.

"Hey, um," I started. "How exactly are you planning on making the world better for us?"

He seemed to get caught off guard by the question because I noticed that he blinked hard, trying to regain his composure. His expression went back to normal again. He looked like he was hoping I wouldn't ask that question right now.

"Well...to make something new, you have to take out what's old, right?" he said.

"Right...?"

"So, in order to make our plan work, we need to start from scratch."

"Meaning?"

He sighed. "It means that...the gods aren't part of the ecuation," he explained. "They have to be taken out."

I suddenly didn't feel so good. I knew what he meant by _taken out_. They were going to destroy them. How could I have not asked this sooner? What had I gotten myself into? I couldn't let this happen. I loved my father, even though he didn't exactly win the_ #1 Daddy in the World_ award.

I found myself needing to sit down. I did on the bed and Luke rushed to my side.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I couldn't find any words to say.

"Look, don't feel bad," he said. "The gods are selfish beings, they don't really care about us. When was the last time you saw your father?"

"But, there has to be another way..."

"No, there isn't. They will never change; they haven't for the past eons, what makes you think they will now?" he asked. "Besides, _he_ wants revenge."

"Who?"

He pointed at the huge sarcophagus. Suddenly, the room seemed to darken. I had this bad feeling about it.

"Kronos. Lord of time."

"But, how's that possible?" I gasped.

"He's reforming, little by little. Everytime someone new joins our cause, another piece appears," he explained. "You'll see once you pledge yourself to him."

I felt a bit relieved. It seemed like I still wasn't officially a part of this until I pledged myself to Kronos. I could still decide if I wanted to do this. And I knew my decision already. I mean, could I be capable of killing my own father?

"But, Luke," I said. "I love my fathe…I-I'm not so sure about this. I don't think this is the right choice."

He seemed to get mad. He shook his head, looking down, in disbelief. "I can't believe you're doing this now, Cassie."

I stayed quiet, letting him say what he had to. He stood up, probably trying to take it all in.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized. "But I feel I'm making the right decision."

He looked at me once again, his expression that of pure disappointment. Just then, there was a knock on the door. Luke's face turned serious and he went to get it.

"Cassie, are you okay?" Alec asked as soon as he saw me. How did he know something was wrong?

We exchanged looks and he knew what was going on: we needed to get out of here as soon as possible. I had a feeling things were going to get very ugly.

"We need to go," Alec said with a firm look and voice to Luke.

"An empathy link," Luke noticed. Was it just me or did his face turn red for a moment? "I see..."

I didn't know what the hell he was talking about. An empathy link between Alec and me? He chuckled and smiled wickedly.

"Well, I guess you'll have to make yourselves comfortable here because you won't be going anywhere," he said. "You know too much now and if you don't agree to be kept here we have to kill you."

"But wait, you can't just keep us here," I pointed. "Chiron will know something's wrong."

For a second, his face was dubious. He seemed to think. Then he snapped out of it. "That's not a problem. Maybe he'll think you decided to stay home. Or got attacked by monsters. Apollo's children attract some decent ones."

He smiled for a moment and added, "I could deliver the news to Chiron myself."

"Luke..."

He started to pace around the room, not meeting my gaze.

"After all we've been through..." I remembered last night when I fell asleep on his strong arms. And this morning when I had woken up on them.

He stopped at the giant window, looking outside, over the stern of the ship and into the morning sky. The water was calm and the setting would've been beautiful if not because of what was happening just now.

"Don't get me wrong, Cassie. I do love you," he said, suddenly with a different tone. Almost sincere. "And this is very painful for me to do but, if you don't join us, I can't let you go. Not after you know about everything."

"I can't believe you would do this..."

He turned. "I'm sorry." It sounded both cold and like he did mean it, if that is possible. "Agrius. Oreius," he called.

Into the room came two creatures. They were at least eight feet tall, with furry chests, claws for fingernails and paws for feet. Their noses were snout-like and they had sharp canine teeth. Summing it all up: they were horrible.

"What-?" Alec started to say.

"You two are to stay here," Luke said. "My friends here will keep an eye in you. You know, to make sure you don't try to escape."

My gaze couldn't be taken away from his eyes. I still just couldn't process all of this. He turned to the bear-men.

"I'll be back in a few," Luke told them. "And don't let them out of your sight under any circumstance," he threatened.

The bear-men nodded and, as Luke left the room, they gave us a menacing grin. After that, they closed the door and locked it from the outside. Just then, I broke down. I let myself fall on my knees to the floor. Tears streamed down my cheeks and fell on my hands, that were supporting my weight on the floor.

Alec rushed to my side. His face was really surprised. He'd never, not once, seen me cry. He threw his arms around me comfortingly and I let myself in them.

"I'm so sorry, Cassie," he said. "It was my fault. I knew I had smelled something weird around here but since this place was all covered in Mist, I couldn't actually see the monsters."

And here he was. My best friend, blaming himself for something that _I_ had gotten him into. I had to admit that it was actually my fault for not asking things beforehand.

"Alec...," I started. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. Not you."

"Cassie..."

"I got us into this mess," I said. "I'll...I'll find a way to get you out of here."

"No, no. I'm not going anywhere without you," he objected. "I have to protect you. That's why this is my fault."

"Alec, please stop trying to be the bad guy!" I snapped. "You're not! _I_ got us into this! _I_ was the one who was blind!"

Surprisingly, even to myself, I started sobbing. All Alec could do was embrace me even tighter. After a few minutes, when I finally calmed down a bit, I looked at him.

"I'm sorry," I apologized. "You're just trying to be a good friend and make me feel better. I shouldn't have spoken to you that way. I'm really sorry."

"Nah, it's fine," he assured. "You're going through a really tough time. I understand. Believe me, I do. I can feel what you feel with the empathy link."

"Yeah, about that...you didn't tell me."

"I know, I should've told you," he apologized. "It's actually a bit dangerous but I did it when I left last time. To make sure you were always okay."

"And how _exactly_ does that work? The empathy link?"

He turned a bit paler that usual. "Um, well, technically, I can feel everything that you feel."

Now I was sure _I_ turned pale. "_Everything_?"

"Everything," he said. "Listen...I know about last night."

"Now that's embarrassing...," I said.

"Yeah...just forget about it, okay?" he told me. "I'll never mention it. I promise."

We stayed silent for a while, trying to figure out things. What could we do? How could we get out of here? Could we make it out of here in time, before someone could capture us? We wouldn't know if we didn't try. So I told Alec.

"Okay, let's do this!" he said, surprisingly determined. I thought he'd think the idea was crazy.

Though we had a slight chance. Alec was a good runner−or trotter−since he was a satyr. I was actually skilled at running, though it had been a long time since my last good run at camp. In other words, we would find out how fast we could run once we were out there.

Alec proceeded to knocking the door. "Excuse me," he said with genuine innocence in his voice.

This could really work.

* * *

Alec and I ran like our lives depended on it−which was exactly the case. We were lucky we were able to fool the bear men. They actually weren't so bright after all. Alec confused one of them, Oreius, who was guarding the door alone, with some explaining about why they needed to let us go. Agrius had left for a few minutes and when he saw us escaping, started after us and the chase began.

We went past these weird, green women with snake tails for feet. _Dracaenae_, I think they're called.

"S-s-stop!" they hissed. "Get them!"

They were after us now, along with a few more creatures so hideous that I seriously don't think I'll be able to describe. We had already made it to the deck. Just one more floor to go and we would be free people. Alec and I went to the elevators and he pressed the down button frantically.

"Come on, come on," Alec said. There was a _ding_ sound and the doors started to open. "Yes!" he said but we both had to stop on our tracks.

"Going somewhere?" Luke asked. He stood inside the elevator with a pretty annoyed expression. We backed away as he started coming out.

"I only leave for a few minutes and you're already trying to escape," he continued. "I knew these morons were good for nothing."

"I'm sorry, Luke," I said. "But this is not what I signed up for."

"Yeah, you'd better back off or things are gonna get ugly!" Alec warned.

I really didn't want to pick a fight if I didn't have to. I mean, we were clearly outnumbered as long as we were on Luke's territory. There was no way Alec and I alone could take on the whole ship.

Unless...

"Luke," I said. "Fight me."

He seemed both caught off guard and amused by my proposition. I wasn't sure I could win against him on my own but it was the only chance we had. I'd have to convince him to let us go if I won and that wouldn't be so hard since he never said no to a challenge.

"If I win," I continued. "You have to let us go. If you win...we'll stay here. No complaints."

He smiled, probably analyzing all the ways he could beat me and my minimum chance at winning. He was the one who'd taught me everything I knew about fighting so I was practically screwed. It would take a miracle for me to win. Hopefully, today my father would listen to my prayers.

Luke looked at me straight in the eyes and I knew he was in with my plan.

"Deal," he agreed.

I had to make it a solid oath, so there could be no way around his promise.

"Swear it upon the River Styx."

For a moment he glared at me but then his expression returned to that of amusement. "Fine, I swear upon the River Styx," he swore.

Thunder boomed in the distance. The promise was now officially made. With a last prayer to my father, I said, "Let's go!"

After I picked a sword from the ship's arsenal and making Luke swear upon the River Styx that there was nothing wrong with any of them, we proceeded to the main deck. He stood at the end of it and I was a few feet away from him. He took his stance and I did the same.

"Ready?" he asked, smiling.

I nodded once. His face turned serious then. He knew I was not going to hold back. I was very determined to get out of here. Living the rest of my life held hostage on a ship wasn't exactly part of my _10 things I wish to do_ list.

"GO!" he yelled and we paced in circles, facing each other. We were both smart enough not to go at each other too quickly.

When the midday sun touched my eyes, he advanced but I managed to successfully block his attack. My knuckles hurt afterwards, though. The blow had been pretty hard.

I cursed under my breath and tried to adjust my grip on my sword. That was beginning to become difficult because somehow, the armlet on my wrist seemed to weigh a lot more than I remembered.

He came at me again and I dodged him and slashed. Knowing him, he blocked it just in time. He pressed his sword hard against mine and I couldn't hold on to it for long. The swords slid and I was thrown backwards, almost falling in the process. I staggered, trying to regain my balance and trying my best to think more clearly. I was already out of stamina from all that running. I had to find a way to regain it.

Luke chuckled once. "Tired already, Cassie?"

"Get up, Cassie!" I heard Alec yell at me. "You have to do this! We've got to get out of this place!"

I wiped the sweat off my forehead, because my bangs were sticking to it, and some moisture I felt on my cheeks. It was then when I realized that I was crying again.

All the memories of Luke and me passed through my mind and, for a moment, I felt melancholy sweep over me. Here I was, fighting the guy I once loved. Though somehow, I didn't only see him. I could see someone else in my head, a silhouette. As it became clearer, I could see that it was Percy.

"Percy...," I said softly. I had to get out of here. I wanted to see him. Luke heard me.

"Yeah...you won't be seeing _him_ anymore," Luke said, his tone bitter. "Hades must've killed him by now."

I slowly stood up.

"I'm kind of glad I put the bolt inside the shield," he continued.

I glanced at him. "You what?"

"Yes, Cassie. _I'm_ the real lightning thief," he said and he sounded as if he were proud of it too. "I was actually starting to feel a little guilty after I tricked Percy but then after you called me by his name, I decided that I didn't care."

At that very moment, some sort of rush surged through my body. I advanced and thrust my sword, aiming straight at his chest. But he took me by the wrist, making my sword fall out of my hand, and twisted my arm. He held on to it as he spoke from behind me, over my shoulder and into my ear.

"That's more like it," he whispered, as if he were happy about me finally releasing my anger. "Though, it'll take more than that for you to beat me. After all, I taught you everything you know."

"But you're holding back, too," I noticed. "You could've won against me from the start if you weren't."

"And look, even when I am holding back, you still haven't managed to get even a scratch on me."

"Stop holding back! If I win, I want it to be with my own strength!"

"If you say so," he said and I could picture his smirk as he said it.

He let go of me and I staggered forward. I picked my sword as I did but with incredible speed, he slashed and I felt the searing pain that now ran across the left side of my abdomen. I collapsed on my knees and then face-first onto the floor.

"I thought you told me not to hold back," he mocked and chuckled.

The smell of my own blood was making me dizzy and I could feel myself beginning to lose consciousness. The cut was deep, I could feel it. This one wouldn't go away so easily with my healing abilities.

I felt Luke's footsteps coming closer. From the corner of my eye, I saw when he stood beside me. He raised his sword, ready to strike the last blow and my last thought was the last one I imagined I'd have.

_Father, help..._

And I blacked out.

Something else overcame me, making me regain consciousness. It was energy. Not mine, but someone else's. Someone more powerful was giving it to me.

And then I felt myself starting to float. And I wasn't just myself. I wasn't in complete control of my body or actions.

I could see that the sky had darkened in a way that wasn't at all normal. It was a weird color between red and purple. But something was shining over the ship, making it clear for me to see. I saw Luke on the floor and Alec trying to take cover. Both of them watched me with wide eyes.

It was then when I could see something really bright on the surface of the water. Looking more closely, I could see that it was my reflection.

My eyes looked like they were set ablaze. They glowed in a fiery yellow. My whole body was covered with a golden aura. I was the one giving light to everything.

I felt a thousand times more powerful than I'd ever felt in my whole life. I took my bow, which was already slung over my back and notched an arrow. It quickly shone golden, like a ray of light. I aimed it at Luke.

Something happened inside of me. I snapped out of it. I was back in control. I could decide what to do. Luke's life was in my hands. I could win against him. He could pay for everything he'd done. And I was good at archery, I surely wouldn't miss.

He looked straight at me, fear for the first time in his eyes. Alec looked at the whole scene, waiting for the outcome with a terrified expression.

And I shot the arrow.

It hit the middle of the ship with a loud noise. I couldn't do it. There was no way I could kill him and go on with my life as if nothing had happened. Luke looked at me with a bit of relief though he still looked very startled. His gaze then went to the explosion and he started trying to get out of there. In a few minutes, the Princess Andromeda would be no more.

The energy rush left me then and I started descending. The sky turned back to normal. When my feet touched the floor, I noticed that I could stand. The cut on my abdomen was no longer there but I felt really weak. I began to stagger but Alec was already beside me, lending me a hand.

"We need to get out of here. This thing's gonna explode," he urged. "That was awesome, by the way. Your father helped you win."

I hadn't exactly won but I didn't say anything. Alec slung me over his back and bolted towards the stairs. It was amazing how fast a satyr could run. We made it out of the ship in almost no time. Quickly after we were safe outside, my eyes shut and the last thing I remembered was a loud _boom_.

* * *

**Well, first author note! I think this is my longest chapter yet and I had so much fun writing it! After a month of not being able to write (*ahem* and a lot of nagging from my friend telling mw to hurry up with the darn chapter already. You know who you are.), I found out that I actually missed my characters a lot! I'm glad I'm back on a roll again! Okay enough of my useless talking, until next time! Thanks for reading! ^ ^**


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER NINE

I HAVE A TALK WITH MY TEENAGE FATHER

I opened my eyes due to the illumination. I still felt as if a truck had run over me, but other than that I felt better. Especially when I saw who was beside me.

"Percy," I said and kind of tackled him. He seemed to be caught off guard and chuckled. "I was so worried about you."

His expression was that of relief and he hugged me. "I'm so glad you're okay."

The truth was that for the first time in my life it felt good to be alive just because of the fact that I got to see him again. If not for that, death would've been a better choice because after everything that had happened to me, I felt like trash.

I noticed that I was somewhere familiar. I'd been here before a couple of times. It also brought back some not-so-good memories.

"Why am I in Olympus?" I asked.

"I literally ran into you guys when I was coming to return the bolt," he explained. "So Alec helped me get you up here to have you checked but he left when we got to the top of the elevator. Your father fed you some nectar and did a bit of healing magic so you would be okay."

"My father...cured me?"

"Yeah," he said. "He's actually pretty cool. Or is it hot? Wait, no, that sounds weird. Anyways, you get the point."

Funny he hadn't mentioned how annoying my father got when he started with the haiku. That was something not even I could handle. Sometimes I was glad I didn't see him that often.

I chuckled. "You didn't get annoyed by him? Not even a little bit?"

He smiled. "Okay, maybe someone could make him stop with the poetry."

"We've all tried."

We both started laughing. When we finally stopped, Percy spoke. "No, but, seriously, he's a good father. He was really worried about you, all this time. He wouldn't leave the room until he saw that you were going to be okay."

"What about you?" I asked, really curious. "You're the only one here. Why didn't you leave?"  
I swear he turned a little red-faced. "Well...I wanted to be the first to see you open your eyes."

"Really?" I said. But then I started to feel a bit bad and my face must've given me away.

"What's the matter?" he asked, worried.

"I'm really sorry, Percy," I apologized. "I didn't know what Luke had planned. He never told me...I-I never noticed that he'd hidden the bolt in the shield and then gave it to you."

"You don't need to apologize for something you didn't do," he said. "And it's fine. I actually feel a lot better now that I know that it was him who actually rigged it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, one line from the Oracle's prophecy was that I would be betrayed by someone who called me a friend."

"And you thought that friend would be...me?"

He nodded. "I'm glad it wasn't."

My eyes then went to his neck where I could see the necklace I had given to him the day he left. He noticed and also looked at it. "You kept it?"

"Of course. Never took it off."

I smiled and he did the same. Suddenly, I remembered something.

"Hey...you said you had something to tell me if you came back alive from the quest," I recalled. "We're both here so you might as well..."

Just then, we got interrupted. A teenage guy, about my age, was peeking through the door. Or curtain actually.

"Can I talk with my daughter?" Apollo asked.

It was kind of weird hearing that from an eighteen-year-old that could've been my brother. He was really the kind of father that I couldn't go to father-daughter activities without confusing people so I was glad that he couldn't do these things with me. Percy nodded, smiled at me and headed out.

"Not at all." And he disappeared, leaving us alone.

Apollo smiled too. "Percy Jackson. Nice boy."

I had to admit that I felt a bit strange because I'd never been alone with my dad, much less had a conversation with him. And when I looked at him, he didn't really look like he could even be my dad. Or _a_ dad. Sure, we had the same eye color. I also had his smile. But I still couldn't get over the fact that he was my same age. Well, he was actually a few thousand years old, but since he preferred to look young because he watched over guys, he made me feel extremely weird.

My mind kind of went blank. There were so many things I could say from a simple thank you to a huge speech about everything he'd done for me recently. I decided to let him speak first, just in case. You never knew with gods. One day they were all nice but the next you couldn't know if they had woken up on the wrong side of the bed. I didn't know which of those days was today.

"Lord Apollo," I said as I bowed awkwardly.

He smiled and said, "Ah, forget about formalities! Come'ere!" And he did the last thing I would ever imagine him doing. The sun god had his arms in front of him, offering me a hug.

I hesitated at first but then I just acted on instinct. I guess you never know how much you want a hug from your dad until he has his arms right there in front of you. It was the most fatherly gesture he'd ever shown towards me. Not like we'd had time together like this in the first place.

His embrace was cozy and warm. It made me feel good for a moment. It reminded me that there still was my family. And I'd been away from home for so much time, I'd forgotten what it felt like.

When we finally stopped hugging, he was the first to talk.

"Wow, Cassie," Apollo said. "You're pretty hot! That's very appropriate when you are the daughter of the sun god."

"Father!" I said, probably turning red for a moment. "You don't say that to a girl, much less your daughter, when you look like an eighteen-year-old yourself. It's just weird."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm sorry. Can't I compliment my own daughter? Geez, I really don't get women sometimes. When you don't say anything, it's wrong. When you say something, it's wrong. I don't know know what to do with them."

"Alright, alright."

He did something that I was almost expecting. He took a few steps back. Then he put his arms in front of him dramatically and I facepalmed.

_"My hot, teen daughter _

_Did not like my compliment _

_I don't get women." _

"Please, dad. You're just embarrassing the both of us."

"It came out better than I expected." He smiled, very pleased with himself as he said it.

"So, you wanted to talk to me, right?" I asked trying to change his thoughts about bad poetry for a while at least. He kept smiling as he nodded. He came closer to me.

"I'm very proud of you, Cassie. What you did out there was outstanding."

"Wait, I should be thanking you first, after you helped me get out of that ship. I couldn't have done it without you," I said. "There's no way I could've done..._that_ on my own."

He chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"Cassie, you almost did all that on your own."

"What? But you helped me. I...felt you," I explained.

"Well, yes, I did give you some energy so you could go on but the rest was all you. I really couldn't believe it but you were actually starting to pull my power away, you were taking it from me. I have to admit that was pretty scary. If you hadn't regained back your consciousness you would've reached the heat of the sun. In other words, all of you could've died."

My eyes felt really dry and I started blinking a lot. Could I really be powerful enough to become like the sun itself? So that's why the sky was darkened in that weird color. It seems like there had been an eclipse.

"Wow. I'm sorry," was all I could say.

"You don't have to be sorry about that. You had so much power, that your body was overwhelmed and acted alone. Let's just thank the gods that you woke up just in time," he said. He didn't even look a bit mad or anything after I'd almost torched the entire Earth.

"Yeah..."

He looked at me and his face looked a bit concerned. "What's the matter?"

"I...I don't want that to ever happen again. Not unless I really need it," I admitted. And it was the truth. I really didn't want so much power in my hands. I mean, could I really handle it all? I looked at the armlet on my wrist, remembering how the arrows had made the ship explode. "I want to keep those powers in check. Is there any way I could do that?"

He thought about it for a moment. Then he smiled and said, "Aha!" With a snap of his fingers, a tiny box that could hold a ring possibly, appeared in his hand. "Here." And he put it in my hands.

I opened the box and confirmed my thoughts. It was a ring. Its stone was in a dim yellow color, and it looked as if it were hollow.

"What is this?" I asked, intrigued by the thing.

"That ring will control your powers," he said. "Put it on, it's such a mouthful to explain what it does."

I took the ring out of the box and turned it around in my hand before putting it on. After I examined it, I slid it down my ring finger. It somehow fit me perfectly. I felt something leave me, like tiny amount of energy, and immediately the stone on the ring lit up a bit, turning into a bright golden color with a few hints of red and orange. It looked like a miniature sun.

"So now my powers are like inside here?" I mused.

"Exactly," Apollo smiled, very pleased. "Thank goodness you catch on fast. So now you'll have no problem. If you want to use those powers just take the ring off and _BOOM_-," he spread out his arms in an attempt to seem like an explosion. "-instant supernova. Well, not exactly instant. I mean-aw, you know what I mean."

"Yeah...I don't think I'll want to reach that level of power, dad."

He smiled.

"What? Why are you smiling?" I asked, not finding any of this topics amusing.

"Nothing. It's just that it sounds weird whenever you call me _dad_."

"Sorry. I won't, then."

"I didn't say it wasn't okay with me," he said. "Cassie, you're the only one of my children I've had the closest contact with. And I'm very proud of you. You've turned out to be maturer than most of my sons and daughters. Most of them are very cocky and they surely wouldn't hesitate to use the powers you, for some reason, have."

"They say, 'With great power, comes great responsibility,' right? I don't think I'm ready for such a huge responsibility," I admitted. "I just want to try and live more normally from now on or as normally as you can when you're a half-blood. I would like to go to college since I'm almost eighteen. There aren't any adult campers at Camp Half-Blood."

"Good point. Do that, if its what you really want."

"Besides, Luke was the one that actually kept me tied to the camp. Also, I miss my family a lot. I want to spend some time with them, away from camp so I can get my thoughts together again. Maybe I'll even stay at camp just during the summer."

Somehow, all these decisions were popping into my head right now. And if I thought about it, it was what I wanted all along. Now that I didn't have Luke by my side I was actually starting to think for myself and what's best for me. Not that I was in a rush but maybe now I could find out what could happen between me and Percy.

As if he were reading my thoughts, Apollo asked, "What about the boy, Percy?"

"What about him?" I tried to sound nonchalant.

"Come on, Cassie. Don't pretend that you don't like him. I know both of you do."

"Well, I don't know. I just broke up with Luke so it would be innapropriate. Maybe after sometime, I don't know. Let's stop with the boy talk! Even though I'm practically talking to a teenager it's still pretty embarrassing knowing that you're my father."

He chuckled. "Fine, but, just so you know, I approve of him. He's a nice boy. Looks like he _really_ likes you, too."

"DAD!"

"Okay, I'll stop embarrassing you now!"

"Please!" My face was probably about to explode. "But thanks, anyway," I said under my breath.

"Anyways," he continued. "I know you'll make the right decisions."

"Thanks," I said. "Dad."

He smiled and gave me one last hug. "Come on. Let's not keep Percy waiting."

"Dad."

He chuckled as we went to the throne room. When we got there, the only ones there were Percy and his father, Poseidon, who was sitting on his throne. As soon as Percy saw me, he smiled. Poseidon noticed and smiled too. I went to stand beside Percy and Apollo went to Poseidon's side.

"Lord Poseidon," I said and bowed.

"Cassie, Percy," Poseidon spoke. "You have both done a great job. Percy, you have returned the bolt in time, saving us all from an impending doom. And you Cassie, have also delayed Luke's plans on reviving...our father. Excellent job, both of you."

"Delayed? What do you mean delayed?" I asked. "Luke sank with the ship."

Poseidon sighed and his eyes looked a bit preocuppied. "No, Cassie. Luke isn't dead. He managed to get to safety. He will surely be back after he can recover everything from the crash."

I cursed under my breath.

"But still, you have bought us some time to think of something to do so he is stopped before they can do something serious," Poseidon continued. "We will have to keep an eye on him. He will start organizing everything again as soon as he can."

Percy put his arm around me comfortingly. But even he couldn't make me feel better.

"Nevertheless, I'm positive that with heroes as great as these, Luke can be stopped," Apollo said as he looked at both of us proudly. This was the most serious I had ever heard him talk. "The fate of Olympus rests on your shoulders, young demigods. No pressure, though."

"Sure. No pressure," I mumbled.

"We'll stop them, Cassie," Percy whispered reassuringly. "I know we can. Maybe if we worked together..."

I had to smile because I liked the idea. "Yeah. Together."

"Well, then." Poseidon stood up. He exchanged looks with my father and they nodded. "I guess that is all. You can go back to camp, to safety. For now." And in a shimmering green light, the sea god disappeared.

"I guess, I'll, too, see you both later," Apollo said, doing a good bye salute, his index finger and middle finger against his forehead and then outward in a peace sign. He winked at us before disappearing too, but instead of in a shimmer, in a flash of light. And I was left alone with Percy.

"Come on," Percy said. "Let's go home."


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER TEN

I ALMOST DROWN TO DEATH

As much as I wanted to go to my real home and see my family again, I decided to at least finish the summer at camp. Maybe in a few weeks I'd start having second thoughts and beg Chiron for permission to go out but for now I was doing okay.

In the next few weeks, everything seemed back to normal. Well, as normal as everything could be, knowing that Luke was out there somewhere and now he was our enemy. I went to Masters Archery class with Chiron, did a bit of sword training and sometimes even helped Percy out.

My birthday also passed. It was always during camp, July 24. The guys surprised me with a small birthday cake which they had managed to bake themselves. It actually turned out pretty good. My siblings from Cabin Seven even organized a little party and it was really fun. I surely wasn't expecting any of that.

The ring Apollo had given to me was still on my finger, glowing fiercely. A tiny fiery ball of gas, which were my powers. Not once had I taken it off. The truth was that the experience, having all that power, had been scary. For a moment I hadn't been myself, I couldn't control my actions. What if that were to happen again and I lost control completely?

I forced myself to stop thinking about that because whenever I did I started to get a headache. I headed towards the beach. I seriously needed some fresh air.

As I approached the beach, catching the first glimpse of Long Island Sound, the smell of salt water buffeted me in the face overwhelming me for a moment. How long ago had I last been at the beach, just for fun?

The rays of sunlight felt very good against my skin. They felt warm and cozy as if they were wrapping themselves around me, embracing me. Apollo came to my mind and it suddenly occured to me that, well, he was like the sun.

I sat on the sand, looking out to the horizon, enjoying myself and trying to suck in as much vitamin D as I could. It had been some time since I'd been exposed to the sun like this and somehow I felt refreshed and stronger. I guess that since I always used to spend my time with...My gods! I needed to stop thinking about him. He was gone, officially crossed over to the dark side.

I let myself fall backwards onto the sand and I closed my eyes, trying not to think about anything but how good I felt being here. It was as if my father were here, the sunlight caressing my cheek.

Suddenly, I felt a shadow cross my face. It disappeared just as quickly and I knew that someone had sat down next to me. I opened my left eye, half-expecting my father, but it wasn't. It didn't disappoint me, though.

"This is nice," the guy said, turning his ocean-blue eyes at me.

I smiled and let out a contented sigh as I sat back up. "Yeah."

Percy was in the usual orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. But he wore cut-off jeans and flip-flops. Just like me.

"So what are you doing alone? All the way down here?" he asked.

"Just needed some time out of all-," I said as I gestured towards the camp. "-that."

"Yeah," he said as if he felt the same thing. "Sometimes it's good to get out of all...that." He said it mimicking what I had done and he smiled again as I nudged him on the shoulder with a "Hey."

It was hard being a half-blood. Sometimes, I just wished I could be a normal person for a while. Hang out with friends at the mall, go out to see a movie, go on dates like a regular girl would. Though sometimes, I was glad I was a demigod, too. There was Percy to think about. I would've never met him if I wasn't one. But then again, what happened with Luke wouldn't have happened if I wasn't. If were normal...

"What about you? Why did _you_ come here?" I asked him.

"Hey, this is my turf!" he said gesturing at himself. "I feel better when I'm at the beach. Besides, I saw you here and I kind of owe you something."

Right. He was supposed to tell me something when he came back from his quest to the Underworld. He had tried to tell me back at Olympus but we'd been interrupted by Apollo. Luckily, there was nobody to interrupt us now.

"Go on," I said. I could swear he turned pale for a second, then his cheeks colored and he cleared his throat.

"Well, um, I-I don't know how to say this," he stammered nervously. "I didn't think it through. I never thought I'd actually have a chance to tell you."

"It's okay," I tried to assure him. "I won't bite or anything."

That didn't seem to help much though. He chuckled nervously and said, "Right. You won't bite."

I couldn't help laughing. "Seriously Percy, is it that hard?"

"It's n-not that," he said, his expression surprised. "Besides the fact that I've never done this before, what really worries me is the way you'll take it."

"You don't need to worry about that," I said. "Go on. Try me. What do they say? 'A life without risks, is a life not lived'."

"Okay," he said, determined to say it. "I'll say it."

"That's the spirit."

"I won't worry."

"Exactly."

But then he hesitated and seemed to change his mind. Next, he did something that I didn't think he would do. He kissed me.

After that I smiled, relieved to confirm that was what he meant all along. I seriously can't describe how I felt exactly. This had happened to me once before, but this time it felt totally different. I felt lighter, as if I could start floating away any minute now. Everything seemed beautiful. The sunset was perfect, the way the light touched his face and how he was looking at me. It was all..._magical_. That's the word. It felt magical.

Percy's voice brought me back to Earth.

"Cassie, are you okay?" he asked, startled. "You look like you want to pass out."

I shook my head and snapped out of it. "It's the good kind."

He let out a relieved laugh. "So...we're good?"

"Yeah. We're good," I assured, still a bit dazed. "So that's what this was all about?"

"Yeah. I didn't want to say it. It would've been too cheesy."

"I wouldn't have cared anyway," I admitted. "As long as that was what you were going to say."

He nodded and stood up, offering me his hand. I looked at him, not knowing why he had done it. He waited and finally asked, "Come on."

"What's this about?" I asked.

"I want to try something."

"What?"

"Don't you trust me?" he asked. He put out his hand closer to me, waiting for me to take it. And I did as he helped me stand up from the sand. He pulled me closer to the water and I started to panic. I pulled back and he noticed.

"No way, Percy," I said. "I don't like the water. I can't swim."

One thing I seriously did not like about the beach was the water. I never learned how to swim. Whenever I went to the beach I just sat under a tree or something and read a book or listened to music.

To my surprise, he didn't laugh. He just smiled, as if telling me not to worry about that. "You don't have to worry about knowing how to swim when you're with the son of the sea god."

I didn't know what he meant but I trusted him. He stepped into the water, slowly pulling me in with him. We started to go deeper into the ocean and I tried to look calm as I felt the flips my stomach was doing. It wouldn't be cool to drown to death in front of Percy. He seemed the least preocupied about that, though.

When the water finally reached our necks, his grip on my hand tightened. But I noticed it was the reassuring kind. He was here. He wouldn't let anything happen to me. He wouldn't let me go, feed me to sharks or whatnot.

"You ready?" he asked. His tone was excited compared to how my voice came out.

"Yeah," I squeaked.

He moved his hand to my waist and I clung to him. He started to descend. First our mouths went under. Then our noses. When it was time for the eyes, I closed them. And we were completely submerged.

What surprised me was, first of all, that I wasn't drowning. I was alive. I was underwater and I was alive. And breathing. Second, my clothes weren't wet. Neither was Percy. We were both underwater, completely dry and pretty much alive. Then I noticed it around us. The source of everything that was happening. There was an air bubble all around us.

Percy laughed as he saw me watching everything in awe. "See? Nothing to worry about."

I blinked, my mouth gaping open. "I can't believe it. I'm not dead!"

"Of course not," he said. "Like I said, there are a few advantages to being with a son of Poseidon."

I looked at him, very aware of his arms around my waist and how his grip was loose yet tight at the same time. My arms were around his back, where they had once supported me. Now, though I didn't need the support, I couldn't bring myself to let go. Our breathing got heavier and I could feel our heartbeats getting faster by the second. He leaned slowly and our lips met for the second time.

Once we separated, I caught my breath. Well, if you can catch your breath underwater.

"Best underwater kiss ever," he said.

And I agreed.

I would've loved it if movie endings were real. You know, like, you get your heartbroken but you find true love and you kiss while watching the sunset and then underwater, and then they both lived happily ever after.

It's never like that. Not in real life. Much less for a demigod.

Of course everything with Percy went on smoothly. I really believed he was the one I was meant to be with all along. He was easier to be around with. No matter how hard life had seemed to treat him, he always cared about what was important.

We spent a lot of time with our friends Alec, Annabeth and Grover. And it was nice. Not being so isolated from everyone else. Also, I had more fun than ever. I never knew how many unforgettable things could happen when you were among friends.

When the summer was over, we had the bead ceremony on the last day of camp. The bead this year was completely black with a green trident in the middle-representing the first son of the sea god born in a very long time.

I decided I would try and see how things went in the mortal world. I would see if I could get into college at NYU at least, to be close to camp. I really wanted to see my family too. Apollo had reminded me of that.

"So I guess I'll see you next summer?" Percy said as we stood in front of my cabin, after the ceremony. I needed to start packing early or else I would never be able to leave before noon. I would be eaten by the cleaning harpies if I wasn't out by then.

"Yeah," I said. I had to admit my face fell a bit. I wasn't counting on having to leave Percy behind for a whole nine months of school.

"I'm going with my mom too," he said. "She's probably picked me somewhere to study, by now. Who knows, maybe you'll find me at NYU too."

I could feel my hopes coming up. "Yeah. Maybe."

"Well, you should get packing," he told me. "I'll see you tomorrow before you leave."

"Okay," I agreed as he pulled my face closer to his and kissed me. He waved good-bye and I did too as he walked towards the Poseidon cabin.

Like I said, there's no ending on a happy note.

That night, thank the gods, I finished packing so I was set to go first thing in the morning. But of course, when I was finally able to fall asleep, a dream ruined everything.

I was in a dark place. I didn't know where exactly but I didn't like it. There was a giant pit nearby and chill went through my back. A voice spoke from somewhere inside it, a voice so ancient and powerful it hurt to hear.

_You have failed me_, the ancient voice said. _You said you could do this_.

_I am very sorry, my lord_, another voice said, this one human. And I recognized it. I was a hundred percent sure it was Luke's. _I will have the ship rebuilt. I will organize the most powerful monsters to-_

_You couldn't even keep an insignificant girl and satyr captive,_ the voice chided. _Do you think you will be able to do all of this again? We are wasting valuable time. If only you had been careful. _

_I won't fail you this time, my lord,_ Luke promised. _If I get a hold of those two again, I'll be sure to deal with them. I'll eliminate them, if that's what you like._

_Fool, _the voice said. _You could not do it once. What makes you think you can do it this time? You have a soft heart for that girl, Luke. You won't be able to lift a finger against her. Unless...you had a little encouragement._

_My lord, I will do this, _Luke said and he sounded genuinely scared. He knew what the voice meant by encouragement and it couldn't be something good._ They both deserve to pay. Her and that weakling, Percy Jackson._

_Now, now. We still need the son of Poseidon, _the voice reminded him. _He will be of great use to us, in the future. _

The evil voice started to laugh.

I woke with a start.

I looked at the clock beside my bunk. It was 6:03 in the morning. The sky outside was still a bit dark, the first rays of sunshine starting to peek through the clouds. I decided it was late enough. I brushed my teeth-didn't want to kill anyone with a stinky mouth-and I rushed to the Big House.

I slammed the door open out of desperation and saw Chiron sitting, drinking his morning cofee. He looked at me startled, since never before had I done something like this.

"My child, what is the matter?" he asked me, putting his coffee cup on a table.

"We need to talk," I said, still panting from the run. "He's back."

"Who is back, girl?" Chiron asked but from the looks of it, he already had a pretty good guess.

"Luke. And he is clearly serving Kronos."

* * *

**Finally, final chapter is up. I'm so glad I was able to finish this! Sorry if it wasn't what you expected but this is what felt right to me. After all, I was trying to keep it close to the books with a mix from the movie and adding a little touch of my own with new characters. Thanks for reading! ^^**


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